


Fatefully Yours

by giggling_bubble



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: College, Engagement, F/M, Marriage, Romance, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2018-10-14 09:48:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 62,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10533978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggling_bubble/pseuds/giggling_bubble
Summary: Marinette and Adrien's lives are leading them in directions contrary to their roles as Ladybug and Chat Noir. They don't know each other's identities, but aren't ready to give up on it just yet. In fact, they are determined to take control of their lives and keep each other in them.Cue the proposal!





	1. Au Revoir

Ladybug and Chat Noir were sitting atop the Notre Dame Cathedral, their legs swinging over the side of the bell tower, and looking out over the city. The night had a slight breeze and the smell of spring hung on the wisps. Ladybug sighed heavily, "I'm going to miss this."

Chat turned to look at her fast enough to give him whiplash, "What?!" The magic was gone.

"Come on, Chat, you knew this time would come someday. We are going to be going to University, well I know I am, so I won't be here to do this with you anymore."

Chat felt crushed. He felt like his lady had just taken out his heart and stomped on it. He was going to miss her so much, but he was sure she was right. "You have to let me know who you are before you go," he begged.

She shook her head sadly, "I couldn't do that." Chat stared at her, pouting. "Chat! Don't look at me like that."

He pouted, "I'll reveal myself to you." The glint in his eyes was unmistakable.

"It isn't going to work, Chat," she chuckled, "You know that."

"Okay," he slumped, "I'm going to keep trying, though. You know that, right? You are my moon and stars, Ladybug."

Ladybug blushed and shied away from him, "There's so many fish in the sea, Chat. Even the moon and stars don't know them all by name."

Chat reached over and clasped her hand, "I'll miss you."

She leaned over and let her head fall onto his shoulder, "I'll miss you, too." Ladybug would sincerely miss Chat Noir.

When she laid her head on his shoulder a single tear slid down Chat Noir's cheek. No one would have been able to see it, but he could feel it. His hand went up to wipe it away. He wasn't going to rush out, upset, because this might be one of the last times he got to spend a moment like this with his lady and he wouldn't waste it for anything in this world.


	2. Acceptance

Marinette was waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs for her father to come back with the mail. He was walking up with a handful of letters and her stomach was tied in knots. This Thursday afternoon was going by even slower than usual. Her day had been uneventful, but she knew after waiting for weeks that her letter would come to her someday. It was only a matter of time.

 

"Anything today, papa?" she asked, running to meet him. She was bouncing around his big arms, spying into his hands, like a mongoose dancing around a cobra. There was nothing she could do to get at the letters, but wait for him to make his move.

Her father smiled and chuckled, "I think this one is for you." He handed the letter to her and she squealed as her face broke into a grin. Tom loved how his daughter put all of her energy into everything she did. There was no middle ground with Marinette; once she made up her mind, watch out.

"This is it, this is it, this is it, this is it," she whispered trying to catch her breath. "Whewww." Marinette felt like her head was lifting off of her shoulders. A university acceptance letter!

* * *

"Are you going to open that envelope or eat it?" her mother laughed seeing her daughter sitting at the dining room table staring at the envelope with hungry eyes.

Marinette gulped, "I'm nervous. What if I didn't get in? ...What if I did?"

Her mother sighed, "We'll have to find a way to make it work, no matter what."

Marinette nodded, determined, "Yes." Then she tore open the envelope. As she read the letter her eyes widened and her hand dropped to the table. Slowly, her two hands moved to her mouth and she screamed excitedly, "I GOT IN!"

Sabine and Tom exchanged glances. "You did?" Tom asked, surprised and a little hesitant. He was happy for his daughter, really he was, but he hadn't expected her grades to get her into this particular prestigious university she had applied to. It was her first pick so he knew this was it.

"YES!" she exclaimed.

"That's great," her mother agreed, but Marinette could hear there was very little heart in it.

She looked from one parent to the other, "The least you could do is be happy for me."

Sabine and Tom both looked like they were in pain.

"We are, honey," Sabine smiled, "We are SO proud of you."

Tom nodded, "We are extremely proud of our talented daughter."

"Then why do I have a feeling you're not thrilled?" she asked, looking at the worried glances they were still giving each other.

"Honey," Sabine started, kneeling next to her, "We would love to be able to help you, in any way we can. You know that, right?"

"Yes," Marinette nodded.

"Then you also know that we don't have enough money saved to pay for housing, let alone tuition should you get accepted to the grande ecole you applied," Tom stated flatly.

Sabine shot daggers at her husband, "TOM!"

"It's true," he wiped his stubble with his hand, "We can make sure you don't starve, but you'll have to find a way to pay for your housing and classes."

"I will, papa," she nodded, "I can do that." She didn't know how, but she'd at least try.

Sabine smiled, "Of course you'll find a way. Where there's a will, there's a way. We'll support you in any way you can; even if that's just supporting your decisions in life. We can be supportive."

"Thank you, maman," she smiled. Marinette threw her arms around both of her parents, "Thank you. Now, I have to go call Alya!" She squealed as she ran out of the room.

Tom chuckled, "Well, at least she's determined."

Sabine nodded, "Surprised?"

"Not a bit."


	3. Matrimonial Bl-ech

Adrien arrived home from school and dashed up the stairs towards his bedroom. He'd made it to the hallway when Natalie appeared.

"Adrien, your father would like to speak to you in his study."

Adrien's shoulders tensed as he turned around, "Do you know what this is about?"

"I'm sure you'll have to discuss that with your father." Yes, she knew.

 _Thanks a lot, Natalie._ Adrien thought. _Thanks for the help._

He marched down to his father's study, preparing himself for the worst, but he couldn't have prepared himself for what awaited him. He knocked on the door firmly.

"Enter," Gabriel called. When his head looked up from his desk he forced a quick smile, "Adrien. Sit."

Adrien was nervous. One, his father never smiled at him, and two, he never asked him to sit. This didn't sound good at all.

Adrien took the seat across from his father's desk and immediately felt like he was in an interrogation.

"How is school?" his father asked.

 _A benign question...I'll bite._ "Great."

The older Agreste nodded, "Good, good. You are graduating in a week. Do you have any plans after graduation?"

Adrien sat dumbfounded for a second. He really had no idea what he'd planned on doing after graduation just yet. He had a summer break ahead. Sure, he'd sent out a few college applications, but he hadn't received any responses yet. "I was thinking I'd try to further my education at University, sir."

"Oh?" Gabriel looked over his glasses at that, "What are you planning to pursue?"

Adrien shrugged, "I was contemplating Biology or Anthropology."

"Do you have a University acceptance letter, yet?"

"No, not yet. I applied a little late."

"Where do you want to attend?" his father asked earnestly.

Adrien started to get nervous again. What was the angle here? Why did his father all of a sudden show an interest in his life? It wasn't like he'd been completely absent for the four years since his mom had gone or anything. What was the deal?

"I don't know. I was thinking about Strasbourg."

Gabriel's ears perked up at that. He'd been scribbling something down on his desk, but had given Adrien his full attention now. "Is there a reason you have chosen that particular university?"

"I have heard it is a good school," Adrien shrugged.

"Ah, and it isn't because your girlfriend has been accepted there?"

He was fishing. Adrien just wasn't sure what he was fishing for, "I don't have a girlfriend, sir." Not that he didn't wish he would soon.

Gabriel cleared his throat, obviously satisfied with this line of questioning, and went back to writing on his desk, "All right, Adrien. That is all."

"What is this about?" Adrien asked, "What is with all the questions?"

Gabriel took his glasses off, "Well, if you must know, I am discussing your wedding arrangements with a business partner."

"WEDDING ARRANGEMENTS!?" Adrien erupted, shocked, "I'm NOT getting married!"

Gabriel's face tensed and he stood, menacingly, "Unless you manage to be otherwise engaged there is nothing you can do. This will happen or you will no longer be my son. Understand?"

"Is that an ultimatum?"

"Yes," Gabriel nodded, "By August or you will be marrying Elise Chanteclaire."

"I have to what? Get married?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "Engaged."

Adrien nodded slowly and gulped. His tears were threatening to spill, but he would never let his emotions show in his father's presence. This wasn't fair.

"Is that all, sir?" he said flatly.

"Yes. You are excused."

Adrien let himself out and ran up to his room. Once there he took to beating the living daylights out of his pillows. When he was done he hugged one close to his chest, "I will figure something out. I will."

Plagg chuckled, "Sure you will. The only girl you talk to on a regular basis, or reciprocates any of your affections, is Ladybug, and you don't even know her real name."

Adrien's eyes grew, "Plagg! You're a genius!" He snatched the cat out of the air and kissed him. Plagg squirmed away from him.

"Ick, yuck, I feel violated...where's my cheese? Geniuses need cheese."

Adrien chucked an extra large size of camembert his way, "Eat up, champ, cause we have a proposal to make."


	4. Rock or a Hard Place

Marinette had been going over the numbers all day. No matter what she cut, or shuffled, even with a full time job, she'd never be able to afford living expenses. She was getting dizzy thinking about it. Her whole world was spinning and she felt like she was drowning. _I can't breathe!_ She thought. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. The rest of the world could go on without her while she wallowed in her sorrows for a day, right? No. That wouldn't fix anything. She just needed somewhere she could think that would make the reality of this go away for a minute. She wanted to disappear from her life for a moment.

"I gotta get out of here, Tikki," she sighed.

"Just say the words," her kwami smiled.

"Tikki, spots on!" Instantly, Marinette was Ladybug. It was time for her to go clear her head. She went to the only place she could think-the top of the Eiffel.

When she got to the top she swung her legs over the side and tried to let herself space out. The coolness from the steel seeped into her suit and she focused on the sensation. It was a welcome change as well. She didn't want to think about anything 'Marinette.' In fact, diving off the precipice didn't sound so bad right now, minus the fact she wouldn't see her family, or friends, or eat pastries again...or that Chat who was starting to weasel his way into her heart. She was even starting to think his puns were cute. Something was seriously wrong with her.

"Ahem," a voice cleared behind her; speaking of the cat.

"I want to be alone, Chat," she sighed.

He nodded, "That's why I came up here, too, and seeing as I was here first..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, standing up to go. She hadn't meant to interrupt him.

"I don't mind sharing, though. I mean, I know you wanted to be alone, but if you want to, you could stay."

Ladybug smiled, "That's sweet of you, but we both wanted to be alone. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"

"Well, I don't know if I wanted to be alone. I'd like to think about some things, but now being alone doesn't sound like such a good idea." She saw his grimace and knew exactly what he meant. It was probably a bad time for her to be alone, too, if she were truly honest.

"I'll stay," she sat down and patted the seat beside her. They sat there in silence overlooking the city for a long time. The cars looked like dark blobs with pairs of glittering lights. The people were little specks walking along the sidewalks. Everyone was getting on with their lives. How Ladybug wished she could get on with hers like that. She broke the silence first, "I got accepted to a school today."

His face lit up, "Congratulations! That's paw-some!"

"Chat," she wrinkled her nose. Then her face dropped.

"Not a university you wanted to attend?" he was confused.

She shook her head, "No, it is THE university I wanted to attend."

"Then...why?"

She slouched down and tucked her knees up, "I can't afford to move." Saying it out loud made it much more tangible and real. She was horribly depressed all of a sudden; more-so than before. Only now, she was acutely aware of his presence. Though she felt relieved to say it aloud, it all felt real again with force. He was the first person she'd confided with this information.

Chat's mouth flapped open suddenly and he shut it again. He couldn't even imagine how difficult a situation that would be because he'd never been in it. He was going to mutter something along the lines of 'I understand,' but he didn't. He did have his own problems, however.

"I have to get married," he blurted out in a rush. Then added, as an after thought, "If it makes you feel any better."

The way he said it made her cringe. Plus, no, it didn't make her feel any better. It made her feel sick to her stomach. Not only was she losing a chance at Adrien, but she was going to lose a chance at Chat, too, once they revealed themselves. This was awful. Surely, it wasn't as dire as he made it sound, "HAVE to get married?" she squinted at him, "Like arranged or against your will?"

"Yep," he popped the final P for emphasis. Chat couldn't shake the melancholy as far as that was concerned. He'd been grabbed with a giant, iron fist and was being shoved into an ornately designed box all because his father had a friend with an unlikeable, unwed daughter.

"What the hell? Why?" _No, no, no._

"My father has given me an ultimatum...August," he sighed.

"I thought you were only eighteen?" she asked, confused.

He nodded, "Yes. I am eighteen. She is twenty-three and a friend of the family." _Friend_ being a very loose term for elite peer with whom he trades favors, like Chloe.

She was still flabbergasted. Here she thought her life was bad. She could wait a few years to fix her situation, but poor Chat had until August to get married. The idea of him married instantly, uncomfortably, stabbed at her heart. Her breath caught all of a sudden and she couldn't say what had come to mind. Her sympathetic remark was empty and reduced to a platitude like sentiment. Truth be told, she'd always been holding out for someone else, but this just tore her apart. She couldn't imagine Chat having to go through something like that.

The words hitched in her chest, "Chat. I'm so sorry. If there is ANYTHING I can do, anything at all, do let me know, won't you?"

"Funny you mention that," Chat smirked, scratching the back of his head nervously, "There is something you could do...if you're willing."

"Anything! What?"

"Marry me?"


	5. Of Pacts and Proposals

It was supposed to be Adrien who asked her to marry him. She'd imagined it a thousand different times in hundreds of different ways. He'd take them out on a romantic date, they'd talk, hold hands, dance, and then he'd take a knee and ask her to marry him. Yet, here she was, being asked to marry a person she'd never even see before. It wasn't like they didn't have chemistry together, because they DEFINITELY had chemistry; on some days too much chemistry for her liking. She just felt like she was betraying Adrien even if it was just the idea of him that she was involved with. That's what made her realize just how foolish it all sounded. This was a real, tangible thing. Scary, but she knew she loved Chat even if it wasn't at the same level that she loved the idea of being with Adrien.

Sitting there,after staring at her partner for the past four years and wondering who he was under that mask, Ladybug was barely able to breathe. It was terrifying. Chat sat there squirming uncomfortably. She knew it had taken an extreme amount of courage to do this. It took a minute or two, but she was finally able to speak.

"Are you serious?" she finally managed to eek out, "I mean, I don't even know you. You don't know me. Not outside of the masks, anyway." And she'd been holding out for someone else. Her breath came out in a rush.

"You know me better than anyone," he said kicking her foot with his. He was only interested in one other girl, than Ladybug, and she kept him at a distance. He was on the clock, now, and Ladybug was the only woman on his radar anywhere NEAR marriage material. They enjoyed each others company, he felt like he could talk to her about anything, she hadn't killed him yet over his incessant puns, and they had a spark any time they touched. He could feel it was right deep in his soul.

She smiled, "To be honest, you probably know me better than almost anyone, too." _Everyone except my parents._

He was touched. The idea that he knew Ladybug better than anyone else? That made his toes curl excitedly in his boots, his muscles vibrating under his suit, and a wonderful idea popped into his head, "I could help pay for you to go to school!"

"What?!" At that her head shot up, "Really?!" This could be the answer to her prayers! They'd be helping each other out, after all. Marriage certificates are a contract. Who knows? Maybe they could eventually love each that deeply even if they weren't quite there, yet.

"If you were my wife it would make perfect sense to do this for you. I want to, anyway, regardless of your answer." Ladybug smiled and looked down at her feet. A light blush dusted her cheeks. Chat grinned vibrantly and began to serenade her with a dramatic, cheesy only as Chat could make it, rendition of 'Impossible.' "And tomorrow should you ask me for the world, somehow I'd get it. I would sell my very soul and not regret it; for to live without your love, it's just impossible."

He was just being goofy, but he had no idea the affect his antics had had on Ladybug; she could see the truth in the lyrics through his goofy, flirtatious facade. She was starting to fall for her Chat Noir. Chances were dwindling she'd ever have a chance with Adrien, after all. School was almost over. She didn't even know what he was doing afterwards. That thought depressed her to no end, but at this point there was very little hope for otherwise.

After a long, punctuated, silence she turned to look at him. She gazed at him flirtatiously, "How would we do it, Chat?"

"Do what?" All of a sudden, with her staring at him like that, his mind was blank and his face flushed scarlet.

"The marriage, you goof," she nudged him with her shoulder, "I'm not revealing myself to you just yet; definitely not before August. How would we do it? Dressed like this?" She gestured to her outfit. There was silence. "Chat got your tongue?"

Chat blinked twice, stunned, "Uh...I had it all planned out. I did. I'm just...it's gone."

"Let's talk about it then. What do we have to do?"

"Is that a yes?" Chat's face lit up like fireworks in a midnight sky.

Ladybug smiled, "It doesn't have to be permanent and we could learn to love each other," she nodded, "Yeah, that's a yes."

He scurried up enthusiastically, and turned to face her, dropping to a knee with a flourish, "Can I ask again? Please?"

"As you wish," she smiled.

"Ladybug, woman of my dreams, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Of course I will, Chat."

"Can I kiss you? Nothing zealous, I just feel so happy I could bur..." He was interrupted by lips pressed against his and he let out a contented whimper. There was a spark that electrified him from their lips down to the tips of his toes.

She'd intended it to be only a small peck, but they kissed far too long, and passionately for that. When Ladybug pulled back she smiled shyly at him. She had no idea what had come over her. Her head was swimming. "Wow! I hope the next one is-just-like-that," she sighed breathlessly.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat, "That would be meow-velous." They were now officially engaged. ENGAGED! Chat couldn't believe it. It was as if the purr in his chest were fluttering a hundred miles an hour and growing larger every second. Then, chat looked over at her hand sitting in her lap, empty. That's when he came back to earth. He sat down next to her, placed a hand on top of hers, and smiled, "I'll get you a ring."

"No hurry," she laid her head on his shoulder, "I wouldn't want my parents or friends asking questions."

"Oh, yes, I absolutely understand...I'm still going to get you one."He placed his head on top of hers. The warmth of her on his cheek warmed clear to his heart.

Ladybug sighed exasperatedly. "Chat?"

"Hmm?"

"What about the honeymoon?" Chat audibly gulped and Ladybug burst out laughing, "I was just asking for reference."

Chat scratched at his ear and had a happy, doofy look on his face, "You do know what most people do on their honeymoons, right?" She could hear the leer in his voice. He was enjoying the idea of it too much already. She almost regretted mentioning it.

Ladybug nodded, "I do."

"And..." He grabbed her hand and slid it over onto his lap.

She snatched it back onto her own, "CHAT!"

He began to laugh, "I didn't say a word."

"You didn't have to. We definitely need to get to know the other better if we are to commit ourselves to each other..." her eyes widened in horror as she realized the implication of what she'd said and its relation to a honeymoon.

Chat clicked his tongue satisfactorily, "Yep, sounds like the perfect time to me."

Ladybug groaned, "What am I going to do with you?"

At that he chuckled, "I hope to find out that night."

She punched him gently in the arm. Then she put her head on his shoulder again. They'd figure each other out. Now was as good a time as any to start getting comfortable with each other on a much more intimate level, right?

Chat sighed. He was looking out over the Paris night and couldn't manage to wipe the smile off of his face. That morning he'd been given awful news that had the potential to destroy his life as he knew it. And here, sitting on the Eiffel Tower, he had had the most amazing woman he'd ever met agree to marry him; and in less than a month, no less. There was nothing that could keep him down. He'd always thought he'd have a traditional courting experience; date, get to know her, meet each others families, ask her father for her hand, propose, and marry. That wasn't how it was going to happen, but he didn't feel like anything was missing. Quite the contrary, this felt like he had everything he'd ever wanted out of life; other than knowing who was behind Ladybug's mask. That would happen with time. Everything had just sort of fallen blissfully in place.

"Let's do some research and meet back here tomorrow," Ladybug whispered, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Research?" he asked, confused.

"Yes. We need to figure out the process; how long it takes, what all we have to do, who is going to officiate, etc."

"Ok," he nodded. "That's a brilliant idea." He WAS getting married, but he wasn't going to marry Elise Chantclaire. He was going to marry Ladybug. _Ladybug._ The idea of it still turned him to jelly. _Pinch me, I'm dreaming._

Ladybug mused to herself; a silly, happy, star struck expression on her face. Sure, it would have been nice to have a boyfriend first, do the whole dating thing, and whatnot. Her parents did say they would support her decisions in life. This was one of her decisions. She just hopes they meant that, because she has decided to marry a man whose face she's never seen. The funny thing was she didn't even feel any regrets about it. It felt right.


	6. Plans to Mari

It was Saturday morning. Marinette hadn't slept much that night and she couldn't get her mind to stop racing through that night's events. She tried to sleep, but just couldn't. She blinked for what felt like thirty seconds and it was morning. The sun was shining in the window and the birds were wide awake in her garden.

Marinette sighed on her bed, staring at the ceiling, because in about two months she'd be attending the university of her dreams and she'd be married to a wonderful man...whose face she'd never seen. All she knew was that he was, perhaps, her best friend in this world.

At that point in time she broke out into a cold sweat. It was instant, it was terrifying. What if this was the wrong decision? What if they were rash getting into this? She'd already told him yes. She couldn't back out now. It had felt right...still did. Did that mean he was having second guesses, too? He was so relieved. In fact, she felt like he was more relieved than she was excited. _Oh, Marinette, what have you gotten yourself into?_ She wasn't going to back out. Deep down it still felt right. It was just the jitters. Big decisions always brought out the jitters in her.

She sighed heavily and got on her laptop to research marriage requirements. Mumbling to herself, scratching notes on a pad next to her, "Medical evaluation and a marriage certificate...with our legal names!?" Her eyes widened. "How will we get around that?"

Tikki smiled, "I think I might know someone who can help."

"You do?!" Marinette's eyes widened.

"Sure! He's a romantic at heart and the more mystery the better."

"Let's go!" Marinette grabbed her bag.

She ran down the stairs and passed her parents in the kitchen. Sabine was standing over a large tub of dough while her father was dusting freshly baked beignets. Marinette was rushing through, almost slamming headlong into a large open bag of flour, before Sabine called to her.

"Marinette!"

 _Ugh._ As pleasantly as she could manage, "Yes, maman?"

"You're in an awful hurry, dear. Where are you going?"

"Um, some research, maman," she smiled.

"Don't be hitting the books on an empty stomach," Tom said tossing a beignet to her, "And some for your friend." He tossed her a bag with a few more. She couldn't help, but smile. Her parents knew her too well. Tikki would greatly appreciate the treats.

"I'll be back for lunch!"

* * *

Marinette was standing outside of an unmarked office and sighed, "Here?"

The building was in a pretty slow part of the city. On either side there were restaurants. This building was inconspicuous and crammed in between the other two as more of an afterthought.

"Yes. His name is Master Fu. He'll help you, I know he will."

She pulled on the silver handled door and it opened effortlessly. "Hello?!" she called, "Is anyone here?" Marinette waited another minute before whispering to Tikki, "I don't think he's here." She started to back away towards the door when the small kwami grabbed her shirt.

"He's here!" Tikki exclaimed, "Upstairs."

"I'm not snooping around his office."

Tikki flew upstairs and came back down, "He says come up."

Marinette rolled her eyes. Sure, Tikki could have just made that up herself. _Sure, strangers speak to a tiny, flying ladybug every day. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?_ Marinette had no other options than to trust the tiny kwami so she climbed up the stairs after her. Once she got to the top, she was going to knock, and the door opened.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng!" an elderly man answered, "I was expecting you. Tikki." He nodded to the little kwami.

Marinette looked from one to the other, "Y...you two kn-kn-know each other?" In fact, the man looked awfully familiar to her, now that she thought of it.

Master Fu smiled warmly, "Tikki and I are old friends."

"Good!" Marinette smiled nervously, "I need help."

The man nodded, "Yes, she explained."

"In the two seconds she was up here?" Sarcasm dripping, Marinette stared incredulously...sure. This whole visit was surreal. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"You and Chat Noir have come to an agreement to marry in secret. Yes. I think it is a wonderful idea."

"But, you see, I don't know who Chat Noir is and I really don't want him to know who I am."

"And yet I do." He stated it so matter of factly; like he knew who she was. Marinette gasped!

"Tikki told me you could help. I assumed you already knew," Marinette looked mortified, "Tikki? Did you tell him?"

Tikki began giggling, "No, no, no, Marinette, I lived here before I found you. Master Fu is my friend."

"So he did know."

Master Fu nodded, "Yes. I also know who Chat Noir is. "

"And you still think this is a wonderful idea?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely." Master Fu knew that Adrien and Marinette were made for one another just as their miraculouses belonged together. It was the reason he picked them in the first place; two intertwined souls with a common destiny.

"How should we do it?"

"I will help you," he smiled.

* * *

Marinette left her visit with Master Fu feeling much more settled about the whole event.

_"You said you know Chat Noir?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity._

_"I do," his lips twitched into a partial grin, "To an extent."_

_Marinette nodded, attempting to avoid pestering him about it._

_Master Fu had all the forms necessary to mail in to receive their marriage certificate. "I will handle all of the arrangements," he bowed, "You have nothing to worry about, Ms. Marinette."_

_She felt like she could kiss him right then and there, "Master Fu, I don't know what I would have done without you."_

_"I do, but it doesn't matter now, does it?"_

_"No," she shook her head shyly._

Now she was sitting at home with a dumb smile on her face. She couldn't wait to tell Chat, tonight, that there was someone, with inside knowledge of their identities, that wanted nothing more than to aid in their making this marriage a success.

Marinette reminded herself that she needed to arrange for a medical evaluation as soon as possible. Master Fu had all he needed from her except that evaluation. She had to remind Chat to get one, as well, before he visited with Master Fu. It would just make everything easier for him.

All of a sudden, that dreading, foreboding feeling from earlier that morning had completely dissipated. There was a sense of calm that washed over her and she was, once again, looking forward to her marriage to her best friend.


	7. Pent-up Agrest-son

Adrien climbed in through his bedroom window and dropped his transformation. Plagg flew out and landed on his pillow with a thud. His head was foggy and he was pleased with himself.

"What are you so happy about?" Adrien smirked.

Plagg waved him away, "Genius at work. I'll take a coffee with a side of camembert, hold the coffee."

Adrien rolled his eyes, "You wish, and you can wait. I need a shower-right now."

Plagg glared at his human as he walked into the bathroom. When the door closed he heard Adrien let out an excited squeal. Plagg could easily imagine the happy dance that accompanied the exclamation. It was the tiny cat's turn to roll his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Adrien distractedly stripped off his clothes. He hadn't even noticed he was still in his socks when he climbed into the shower. As soon as the water hit the material he mindlessly peeled them off and threw them over the glass shower stall. He leaned against the wall of the shower and proceeded to roll himself against it, back and forth, front to back, the whole length and back again. The feel of the cool water droplets on his skin, in contrast with the hot shower, felt amazing. His mind was still reeling. He was engaged. He was getting married. The whole idea of it seemed unreal. He kept repeating his grounding exercises from years of therapy to let him know that it was, indeed, real.

"I can't believe it," he finally said, hopping up to hang on the towel bar in his shower, "I'm going to be married...to Ladybug!"

His reverie was broken by a **BAM**! At this point, a Plagg with his eyes squeezed shut, came flying into the side of the glass door.

"PLAGG!" Adrien shrieked. "What do you need?"

"Well, now that we're going to be getting married, don't you need to tell your dad."

Adrien's eyes widened and he dropped to the shower seat. "Ugh." He was not looking forward to that. "Plagg, was that all you needed? To interrupt my shower to tell me something I'd get to eventually? Was it necessary to interrupt? Am I only allowed one minute of happiness?"

"You forgot my cheese," the tiny cat added. Then with a sigh he left the direction he came.

As he was heading out Adrien yelled after him, "AND **WE'RE** NOT GETTING MARRIED! I AM!"

* * *

Natalie was sitting at her desk filing some papers for Mr. Agreste. Her glasses were perched on the bridge of her nose and her hair was a little out of place. Just yesterday she'd lied to the young Mr. Agreste, through omission, and though she was often cold she wasn't heartless. She'd always seen Adrien as a nephew or a younger cousin; he was practically family. Not that she'd know what that was like.

Adrien's mother had discovered Natalie as a teenager when Mrs. Agreste's husband was still trying to break into the design scene. Natalie was one of his first, and successful, models, but she outgrew that stage of her life. In fact, if she hadn't made that promise to Mrs. Agreste, a little over a year ago, she'd have left **this** stage of her life. She never realized just how hard being without her mentor was going to be.

Yesterday, she'd lied to Adrien. Looks like she and her mentor had that in common, but it didn't make her feel any better about it. In fact, Natalie felt betrayed when Mrs. Agreste disappeared, and now she felt like she was betraying the only person in the world who still loved her, even if he never said it. She could tell he was heartbroken yesterday when she didn't tell him what he was walking into. She sent him into the lion's den, unarmed, and she felt like dirt afterwards. The thing is, Natalie was a loyal person and she was doing her job. Gabriel had asked her not to tell Adrien anything, but to send him in to his office.

Gabriel. He wasn't the same as he used to be. Once up on a time he'd been a great employer, a loving father, and a wonderful friend. He's changed in the last year or so in Mrs. Agreste's absence. He was distant, cold, and closed off. Occasionally, she could see hope flicker in his eyes, but then it would be replaced with a cold, black, unfeeling stare. She didn't want to give up on him, but there was very little she could do with his situation. It was up to Natalie to stay and look out for Adrien. Without Adrien she was sure she'd have given up a long time ago, and part of her feared Gabriel would have, too.

Her head was swimming with self-reproach when Adrien entered.

"Good afternoon, Adrien."

"Natalie," he nodded curtly, "Is my father in his office?"

She glanced at the door nervously. She'd been instructed not to disturb him. He had not, however, clarified Adrien couldn't. Plus, she couldn't lie outright. She'd done enough lying to him in the last couple days. "He is..." she drawled to imply there was instruction there.

Inferring that his father did not want to he disturbed, he nodded again in understanding, and barreled through the door, regardless. "Father, I am getting married. Cancel with Ms. Chantclaire , as I have found my future Mrs. Agreste."

His father stiffened at his use of his mother's title. This new woman would have big shoes to fill. "Oh? And when do I get to meet this new woman?"

"In due time."

"You do understand I will need verification, yes? Forgive me, as I am a businessman."

"I will be sure to get the documentation to Natalie." But how was he going to do that without revealing his wife's identity to himself and his father. _Natalie._

"Be sure to do so. Is that all?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good day, then."

"Good day." Adrien walked away satisfied. This meeting could have gone so much worse. He let out a sigh of relief as soon as the door had closed.

* * *

Gabriel turned to face the portrait of Adrien's mother, "I suppose he will do this your way, petite pois." With that, he sat at his desk and dropped his head into his hands and cried. Gabriel Agreste was not a man for emotion, but this was the tipping point. His son despised him. He'd have despised him, too. Hell, he despised himself now. There was little he could do. He'd betrothed Adrien to Elise before he could walk. His wife was completely against the idea, but Gabriel was a man of his word and it was already done. Mrs. Agreste, for Adrien, arranged a contingency to give him even just a smidgen of hope that he could have some say in this matter. She and Mr. Chantclaire came to an understanding that if Elise and/or Adrien were otherwise engaged or married, they would not be obligated to marry one another. This would have to happen before Elise's 24th birthday, which was in August of this year.

Gabriel was sitting in his chair feeling a rush of relief in the turn of events. Not only because of the amount of guilt, but because his wife was still affecting Adrien's life and it made her feel more real. He wanted it to feel like she was still there.


	8. Plan to Chat

Marinette sat down next to Chat Noir on the Arc de Triumph, overlooking the Champs-Elysees, "Master Fu will officiate," she started, "He is going to need us to come to his office, separately, to fill out the information on the marriage certificate application to mail in. I have already done most of what I need to get done. We each need to go and get a medical evaluation, too. The certificate is contingent on the results of that examination."

"And we just have a ceremony and sign it after?" he asked, unsure. Chat Noir was radiating tension.

"Yes," Ladybug nodded.

"He'll handle getting all the witnesses, the anonymity, and whatnot?"

"That's what he said," she nodded.

He immediately relaxed. Chat couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth, "How are we going to reveal ourselves?"

"I don't know," Ladybug shrugged, "I-I hadn't thought about it." That was a complete lie. Marinette had been thinking about it a lot since last night.

"After university?" Chat looked down sadly, and fiddled with his fingers, waiting for her to answer him. He really didn't want to wait that long, but he wanted to do what she wanted to do. He wanted her to be happy.

"Perhaps," she shrugged. "Perhaps before," her lips pursed as she looked away shyly. Chat's eyes jerked up to look at her. His heart had grown instantly at her words.

He gazed seductively, "I'll do anything for you, bugaboo."

"STOP!" She exclaimed, blushing profusely.

Chat pressed his hand to his chest in mock surprise, "I have no idea what you mean." He knelt down and pressed a lip to her hand. "I just want your every happiness."

"That!" she squealed, "Don't..."

"I adore you." He looked up at her with sincerity this time, no flirtation. "Don't you adore me, too?"

With a tender expression, "I believe I do, mon minou."

"Are you my girlfriend now?" he asked quietly.

"I believe we skipped the girlfriend stage. I am now, technically, your fiance."

He sighed, "Fiance!" Then he beamed up at her and smirked, "Then you're going to have to get used to the affection, my love. I'm afraid that once you are mine, and mine forever, you will not be able to avoid it." He got a mischievous look in his eyes as he said menacingly, "Even the mask won't be able save you!" Followed by an evil laugh and Ladybug's giggles.


	9. Aww Man-sion

 

It was a Wednesday morning. Marinette had been thinking about her weekend up until yesterday. On Tuesday, she'd received an acceptance letter to her second choice of a university; only this one was local and she didn't think there was ANY chance in hell she'd ever be accepted into their bachelors program. She'd never thought she'd be accepted to EITHER, truth be told, and they were both pretty neck and neck with which one she favored. There were obvious benefits to her being accepted to 'Couture,' as it was known for short, because it was a local university. Her parents would like that, too. Heck, Chat would like that. She shook her head at the thought that he might be affecting her decisions already. Although, honestly, she would be able to afford Couture mostly on her own. It would be nice if Chat could help out, but she could, technically, live with her parents as it was only a ten minute drive away. Oh, but that wasn't nearly as appealing because she wanted some freedom like other young adults when they go to college and all the experiences that go along with it.

She sighed heavily. "Are you all right?" She jerked sideways and saw Alya staring at her. How long had she been there?

"Yeah," she nodded, "I just...uh...I got accepted to a school yesterday."

"YEAH!?" Alya looked excited for her friend, "Which one?"

Marinette blushed as she tucked her chin to her chest, "IFA, or Couture to everyone else."

"Oh my GOD! Marinette!" Alya shrieked. That earned her a glare from their teacher and she brought it down a couple notches. "That is the BEST fashion school in Paris. Congratulations, girl!"

"Thanks," she blushed.

"Why do you not seem so happy?"

Marinette frowned, "I also got accepted to LISAA."

Alya's jaw dropped, "In Strasbourg?"

"Yes," Marinette nodded.

At this point Adrien turned around in his seat. He couldn't help overhearing their conversation and the mention of Strasbourg. "I applied to a university in Strasbourg."

"Y-yeah?" Marinette squeaked.

"Yeah," he nodded and shrugged, "I haven't heard back yet."

"I didn't know you were going to college," Alya perked up. "What do you want to do?"

Adrien shrugged and sighed heavily, much like Marinette had, "I was thinking sciences...biology or anthropology. Although, I love physics and engineering."

"Have you thought about Architecture?" Marinette asked, completely shocked she didn't stutter. She was just too focused on brainstorming what kind of profession might fit Adrien.

He stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face, "That's what Natalie said."

Marinette looked at Alya to break eye contact with Adrien; as he had been staring at her. His great eye contact was super intimidating.

"That does sound like a great idea for your interests, Adrien," Alya nodded in agreement.

Adrien blushed, "I don't really know much about it."

"Well, if you love anthropology and physics it seems like architecture would be similar," Alya reasoned.

"Maybe," Adrien shrugged and turned back around. He hadn't heard back from any universities yet and he was starting to worry. Sure, he'd been late getting his applications out, but they were almost out of school for the summer. They only had a couple weeks left. Actually, they were mostly though their second to last. He got on his phone and sent a test to Natalie, "Hey, could you let me know if any university acceptance letters come in for me?"

It was lunch time that broke Marinette out of her constant debate in her head. If Adrien was going to Strasbourg that would be a huge push in the 'pro' category. So far, though, Couture was still winning. She was accepted to a fast-track bachelors ro grad program. It was in Paris. Her home. She loved being in Paris, and being Ladybug, and her family and friends. It would be really hard to justify running off to Strasbourg just to be with a guy. Plus, that would cost a lot more and she didn't think that would be fare to Chat, her soon to be husband.

Alya caught up Marinette's arm and ran off with her towards the park. They were going to eat some gyros near the water fountain.

"So, Adrien might be going to Strasbourg," Alya waggled her eyebrows at Marinette.

Mari laughed, "Yeah, but I can't really feasibly afford LISAA. I mean, it would be nice."

"Dang, girl, there's NO WAY I'd choose LISAA over Couture, though, not gonna lie," Alya smirked and hummed satisfactorily to herself.

Marinette smiled, "Thanks, Alya. You're helping make the decision easier."

At that point Marinette sighed and leaned back. Her hand missed the edge of the wall and she started to tumble into the water. Her arm went into the water before someone caught her. She clung to them and stood up relieved.

"Oh my gosh, that could have been bad. Thaaaa...nks," she glanced up and realized who had grabbed her. Her eyes were met with the concerned stare of two forest green eyes. Her breath caught in her chest. "A-Adrien...I-I-I thought Alya," she glared over at her friend who was stuffing her face with the rest of her gyro.

"Whuu?" she mumbled around a mouthful of food. Then she looked at Adrien, "He's faster." Then she chuckled to herself deviously.

"You were going to let me fall in!" Marinette screeched at her friend who was eating her food.

Alya shrugged, "No. I just wasn't paying attention."

Adrien watched the exchange, amused. Marinette was still clinging to him and he wondered if she was aware. He cleared his throat so she could feel it rumble through his chest.

"Oh, sorry," Marinette scrambled away from him, embarrassed.

Adrien sat down next to her on the edge of the fountain, "No worries." He hummed, amused. "I almost had to fish you out of that fountain."

Marinette glared over at Alya, "Yeah."

Adrien leaned over to Marinette and her heart quickened. He realized she had tensed a little so he stopped moving towards her, "So where in Strasbourg was that university you wanted to attend?"

"LISAA," she managed to squeak, "I'm not sure."

He nodded, "I haven't been accepted to Strasbourg yet. My dad's assistant Natalie said I did have an acceptance letter waiting for me at home, though, so I was curious." Adrien was getting flustered with how shy he was. Why couldn't he just spit out what he was thinking? First, Alya was sitting there staring at them like they were the best prime-time drama to grace the screens in the last decade and, second, Marinette was always so awkward. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"About?" Marinette prompted.

He glanced at Alya, then back to Marinette, "I don't know if my dad will even let me go to Strasbourg, but if he does I was wondering if you would want to arrange it so we were close to each other. I'm sure he would send Gorilla with me. If we were in the same building, or something, it would be safer for you and I'd know someone there..." It all came out nervous and edgy. He didn't know how else to say it. He didn't know if she got the gist of where he was going, but for some reason he decided it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth this.

Marinette frowned. She glanced at Alya for help. For some reason she couldn't even manage to make words. Luckily, Alya had heard everything.

"Adrien, she'd love that...if she were going to Strasbourg. I think she is going to pick Couture, personally."

"COUTURE?! Like IFA Couture?!" Adrien's eyes widened, "I had no idea that was the local school you got into. Congratulations, Marinette! Yeah, don't worry about it." He waved his hand, "No big deal." Although, he was noticeably disappointed and Marinette immediately felt horrible. He started to walk off with a mumbled, "Thanks, anyway."

Marinette found her voice when he wilted. She wanted to help if she could, "A-Adrien?"

He'd shoved his hands in his pockets, but he swung his head back to look at her, "Yeah?"

"I-if you decide to, you know, stay local or something, we could still...you know..." she felt like an idiot as her cheeks burned.

Although, Adrien visibly perked up. His head lifted and he smiled, "Yeah. That would be fun, too. I just need the freedom to live on my own, you know? See you all later!" He waved and walked back to school.

Marinette was still smiling to herself when she realized Alya was coughing and sputtering on her gyro.

"Are you okay?" she turned to her friend, "Alya?!" She patted her on the back to help clear her airways.

Alya gasped, "Oh, my lord, Mari! You just asked Adrien to live with you."

Marinette glanced at the retreating form of Adrien and back to Alya, about half a dozen times, with a look of shock growing with every passing glance. "No..." she clasped her hands to her mouth.

Alya began to giggle, "Yes, you did."

"I did," Marinette smiled shyly under her hands, "I..." Her mouth flopped open, but nothing came out so she closed it again.

"You better hope he goes to Strasbourg, girl, or you just agreed to live with the boy of your dreams."

"Who doesn't know I exist," Marinette sighed dejectedly.

"Obviously, that's not true," Alya smirked, "He just asked you to move in with him."

Marinette's eyes widened, "HE DID NOT! He asked if I wanted to live in the same building."

"To-may-to, To-mah-to," Alya weighed her hands out, "Same difference." Marinette scoffed. Alya smiled, "Then you asked to get an apartment with him. That much I did hear." Not exactly what she'd said, but might as well have.

"Oh gosh," Marinette buried her face in her hands, "No."

"Yes."

"He doesn't like me the same way, Alya. That would be a disaster." The scenarios went through her head of him walking around the apartment in a towel after a shower and her throat went dry. Plus, she'd be married by then. This was bad.

"Pray he gets into Strasbourg," Alya chuckled.

* * *

Adrien sat at his desk at the end of class. His head was swimming. With Marinette's offer to share an apartment, or something similar, he might be able to attend a local school and still move out of the Agreste Mansion. First, this was much more likely an acceptable option that his father wouldn't fight too hard considering he'd have more control over his son, and second, he'd be able to get some much needed freedom. He was drawn now, though, because he still hoped to be accepted to Strasbourg, but he really wanted to stay in Paris. His conflict was knitting up in his eye brows.

Nino looked over at Adrien and could tell he was thinking incredibly hard. Of course, he supposed, there might be some confusion in conjugating verbs, but for Adrien? He highly doubted it. "Dude, you look like you're going to explode. Is there a kill switch or something?"

Adrien glanced over at Nino, seeing the concerned expression on his friend's face, and smirked, "I was just thinking."

"I could see that. Care to share with your ol' buddy Nino what has you looking like you're trying to shoot lasers out of your eyeballs?" Nino chuckled.

"I'm...frustrated," Adrien sighed.

Nino looked back to Alya with a knowing look, making sure she wasn't paying any attention to him or would overhear, before leaning in to whisper to Adrien, "Girl problems? Dude, I got you covered. I've been having that same issue with my-"

Adrien looked at Nino and glanced back at Alya. Suddenly, his eyes widened, "No, no, nothing like that. Um, university issues."

"Whew," Nino sighed, "Okay, don't have to have THAT discussion then. Well, yeah, school stuff is hard."

Adrien laughed at Nino's eloquent use of words, "Yes," he nodded in agreement, "It is horribly confusing."

Nino held his hand up in a pacifying manner, "Just let me handle this. We'll find a place to hash out your concerns." He turns to look at Alya, "Yo, Alya, my man Adrien here wants to talk about university stuff. You free tonight?"

Alya looked at her watch, "It's Wednesday...um, I have about two hours, but my shift at Herby's starts at six."

"Cool. How about three to five?" He glanced back to Adrien, then glances backwards, this time at Marinette, "What about you, Mari? You want to get in on this action?"

Marinette blushed at the suggestive nature of the word 'action,' and smiled shyly, "Uh, yeah, I-I'm free."

"HEY! Could we go to your place? I think the forecast says it's supposed to rain tonight so the park is out." Marinette's jaw went slack and she started to stumble over any words that might come out of her mouth.

"No, Nino, it is rude to invite yourself to someone's house," Adrien interjected. He reached back and gently squeezed Marinette's hand, momentarily, to stop her stumbling, "We could all go to my house."

Nino's jaw dropped, "I didn't ask YOU because...you know...your dad and all."

"He flew out to New York this morning. He'll be gone for a week. I think Natalie would be cool with it if I explain."

"Natalie? I thought she was your dad's spy," Alya asked suddenly.

"No," Adrien shook his head. Even he thought that occasionally, but he didn't think that was it. She was always kind and he could tell she cared, with emotion, often enough that he was sure it was more loyalty than anything, "I don't think she'll tell. I'll ask her not to. I'll tell her why we're all meeting there."

"All right, all right!" Nino exclaimed, clapping his hands together. That earned him a reprimand from their teacher who was still in the middle of the lecture.

Marinette was sitting stock still, staring at the back of Adrien's head, with a haze of shock. He'd grabbed her hand. Sure, it was for all of two seconds, but he'd grabbed it and squeezed it. She didn't want to wash her hand ever again. Alya elbowed her to shake her out of her daze so she could function. It was time to start putting their stuff away because the bell was about to ring. Just as well, as soon as the high wore off, Marinette felt a flood of guilt. She was engaged, remember? In that moment she wanted to cry.


	10. Carried On

 

The four friends saw Adrien's car pull up after school got out. "Anyone want a ride?" he offered, gesturing to the sedan.

"Is there room?" Nino asked incredulously.

Adrien scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, yeah? Sure. Yes. We can make it. Someone will have to sit in the front-"

"SHOTGUN!" Alya exclaimed, "Sorry..." She glanced over at Nino and Marinette who were looking at her like she'd grown another head.

"No middle for me," Nino exclaimed.

"Me, neither," Alya smirked, because she'd called the front.

Adrien looked at Marinette apologetically, "My legs don't fit."

Marinette sighed, "Okay. I will. No worries." Her stomach was stirring excitedly as she realized she'd be sitting next to Adrien for the entire ride.

They approached the car and Adrien noticed Natalie was sitting in the front seat. He hissed, "Oooh, um, hold on guys." Adrien ran up to the car and tapped on Natalie's window. She rolled it down. His friends hung back while he talked to her.

"Adrien," she greeted, "Is there an issue?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if my friends could come over today." He saw her immediately stiffen, "No, wait, before you say no. My father is not home, I know, but we're just talking about universities. You received an acceptance letter for me, right?"

"A few. Adrien, I don't know if your father would approve."

"Please?" he begged, "We could discuss options with each other. I need their help."

Natalie sighed and he knew she was going to give in, "All right, Adrien, but only as long as you keep your friends contained to your room. I can't be responsible for them in the house. I don't get paid to babysit."

Adrien chuckled as she made a joke, deadpan delivery. It was very true to Natalie, but one that no one else would think was a joke. Adrien knew better. "Honest. Thank you, Natalie!"

"Arthur," the driver, bodyguard that Adrien referred to as 'Gorilla,' "This doesn't go past me." He nodded, acknowledging that she was the top of this chain and he was not to go over her head to tell Mr. Agreste. Arthur really didn't have any interest talking to Gabriel Agreste, except to grunt in agreement and get paid for it. As far as Arthur was concerned, Gabriel was a prick who paid well. Tattling was above his pay grade. He'd tell Natalie and leave it at her discretion to tattle to Mr. Agreste or not.

"Come on, guys," he waved them over, "It'll be a little squished, but we can handle it."

Alya climbed in and tried to sit on Nino's lap, but she couldn't manage to fit. She and Nino were too big to sit with each other. Marinette, being the smallest, would have to sit on someone's lap. Alya had already wiggled into the middle seat, Nino had followed her in and closed the door. Marinette glanced in to the car, "You can sit here if you want," she patted her knees. They were up pretty high because of the lifted seat, "On second thought." Alya frowned at how little room was left. Alya glanced at Adrien and gestured to her seat as if saying 'trade?'

He shook his head, "I can't, Alya. My legs don't fit."

"I'll just walk," Marinette sighed as she stepped back from the car.

"Nonesense," Adrien said, grabbing her hips and pulling her into the car after him. She let out a surprised yelp as he plopped her onto his lap and pulled the door shut. "Let's go."

Marinette wasn't sure how to sit. She was on Adrien's lap. Her one thought was _don't think._ Then she realized her head was up against the ceiling. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in. She tried to move so she could get more comfortable and her bones dug into his thighs. Adrien winced.

"Ow," he hissed as grabbed her hips again and slid her down towards his torso. He held her there, unaware that her face was beet red, and whispered, "Please don't move." His request was gentle.

Marinette wasn't sure what to think. She tried really hard not to, but now she felt like she needed to move position because of where her feet were. They were wedged against the door where he'd pulled her in backwards. She couldn't see Alya and she really didn't know what to do in this new contorted position. Her pelvis was tipped back where he'd pulled her back and her feet were crammed. She tried to reposition herself without touching Adrien. She wiggled backwards to readjust her posture; curling over herself didn't feel very good. Her feet she was able to turn out away from the door so she had her back up against Adrien's chest. This new position was much more comfortable...for Marinette.

Adrien hissed and stilled her as suddenly both his arms wrapped tightly around her torso. She heard his hoarse whisper in her ear, pleading, "Please. Don't. Wiggle." There was something urgent in the way he said it and a bit of a rasp in his voice. She turned her head to look at him for a better understanding as to what she did wrong, but the movement of her trying to turn made him squeeze her tighter as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder with a grunt, "Ugh, you're killing me."

Nino and Alya both chuckled. Naive Marinette had NO idea what the issue was. She glanced at her friends who gave her knowing smirks. Marinette's furrowed eyebrows made Nino smile. "He's a guy," he nodded, gesturing to Adrien who let out a breath he'd been holding as if on cue. Marinette still had no idea. Her eyebrows rose in confusion and Alya started laughing.

Marinette tried to look back at Adrien again, but he whined. She whispered, "I don't know..."

He sighed and whispered desperately in her ear, "Unless you want to get skewered I'd stop moving around."

Marinette's eyes widened in horror. THAT was what they were talking about. Dang, her ignorance was so embarrassing sometimes. Her face turned bright red and she was suddenly quite aware of where Adrien's arms were wrapped, just under her boobs, and her breath hitched. It was a rather intimate sitting arrangement for friends.

"Now she gets it," Alya chuckled.

"I could have just walked," Marinette whispered back to Adrien apologetically.

"It's fine, Marinette," she could just feel him smile softly behind her, "As long as you don't hold anything against me."

"It's a little too late for that," she chuckled.

"No hard feelings?"

Marinette REALLY wished she could look him in the face at that moment. Twice in a row? That could hardly be a coincidence, but then again, Adrien was never one to make crude jokes, surely. Marinette couldn't stop the amused smirk. "No," she shook her head, but couldn't stop a small laugh. The movement she regretted as she felt a sudden 'twitch' beneath her. She ignored it and Adrien held his breath. Then Marinette decided to try and make it less awkward. The best way she knew how was to relax. She leaned back against Adrien, and did her best to go limp against him so maybe he, and other parts of him, might follow.

Adrien had been sitting in the car, surely glowing a brilliant shade of pink, as he'd pulled Marinette on his lap. He was sure they'd never let him live this down, especially Marinette, and he felt horribly tense and nervous. It wasn't his best idea. He hadn't realized she'd be so squirmy. When she laid back against him, relaxing, he could feel his tension dissipate. It was like she was telling him she was going to be low key about it. He was just hoping she didn't rat him out. That last shake of her head was too much and his body betrayed him. Luckily, Marinette seemed to be understanding and he was grateful. He'd never actually done anything like that with a girl on his lap before. In fact, he was sure he'd never discussed, let alone applied, himself in that kind of a light before. He'd always been 'pure,' in a sense, as far as anyone was concerned. He was horribly embarrassed he'd been betrayed by his own body in such tight quarters with witnesses. Natalie, thankfully, hadn't noticed. Gorilla didn't appear to, either. Adrien relaxed against Marinette's back. They were almost there. Maybe Marinette wouldn't mention his moment of weakness. He could always hope.

Since he was relieved, Adrien absentmindedly started to gently rub small circles against Marinette's soft upper arm. She didn't say anything, but he felt her breath hitch. He realized he was doing it and whispered, "Sorry, does that tickle?"

"No," she whispered back, very careful not to move, "Just surprised me."

"Oh," he said before he began to rub her arm again, "You're soft." He realized, immediately, she was really soft. He had to stop massaging her arm and quickly imagined pulling splinters out from under his fingernails. This was not a good seating arrangement for such a soft, squirmy girl and a rather biologically weak Adrien. He'd never thought of himself as weak for girls before. Actually, quite the opposite. He thought modeling had desensitized him to an extent. Obviously, that was a visual one and not so much a physical one. He took note that Marinette smelled like fresh baked bread and vanilla, her skin was soft, and she liked to wiggle-all very BAD combinations for such a situation.

They pulled up in front of his house and he was staring out his window just trying to imagine cringe-worthy things to keep his mind occupied elsewhere. His hands had been clasped firmly around his own elbows, around Marinette, and he had been leaning away from her to remove the desire to lick her. The car had barely stopped when Adrien opened the door and pushed he and Marinette out.

He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair nervously. He approached Marinette before Nino and Alya could join them, "I'm really sorry-"

Marinette held her hand up to make him stop talking, "Don't. It's fine."

"I didn't mean to-"

"I-it's okay. You're soft, too, I mean, you weren't soft," she bit her lip and moaned in embarrassment, "Gah! G-glad it was _you_ **and** _not_ Nino." She mumbled the last part super fast and walked away from Adrien, flustered. Adrien watched after her with a smirk of amusement on his face. Glad it was him and not Nino, huh? He wondered what she meant by that.

"Not Nino, what?" Nino muttered walking around the car.

"Nothing," Marinette squeaked quickly before stomping off to follow Natalie into the house.

Nino approached Adrien and smirked, "So, you just about stabbed poor Marinette with your pork sword, huh?"

Adrien ran his hands down his face. If only Nino knew; which he didn't, and if Adrien had any say in it, he wouldn't...ever.

Alya smiled and draped an arm around Nino's shoulders, "Maybe we should find a bigger car so we can try that out."

Nino waggled his eyebrows, "Oh yeah?"

Alya popped the visor down on his hat, "I'm no genteel. I'm a wild child."

Nino growled, "Roawr."

At that Adrien exclaimed, "EWW! Guys. There are other people here."

"Ear muffs, Adrien. Ear muffs for your sensitive ears."

"Oh, he and Marinette were made for each other, baby," Alya hummed. At that Adrien rolled his eyes. He was engaged, after all. He chased up the stairs after Natalie and Marinette to get away from Nino and Alya's innuendo.

* * *

They got up to Adrien's room and sat around. Nino and Alya really close to each other and then Adrien and Marinette across the way. Marinette was lying on her stomach, kicking her feet up absentmindedly behind her, while Nino stared at her.

"Girl," Alya called, "You're messing with my boy."

Marinette had no idea what she was talking about, "Huh?"

Alya glanced down at her chest, which was obviously showing a lot more cleavage at this angle than usual, and Marinette blushed. She shrugged, "Get him a leash?"

Alya smirked, "Not funny."

"I don't mind," Nino smiled.

"I bet you don't," Alya glared. "Mari..."

Marinette sat up. Adrien sat stiff as a board; part of it was because of the three letters in his hands. The other was because of the conversation and how closely related it was to his problem earlier. Ever since puberty his friends had always gone to the places he wouldn't allow himself to go; he had a reputation to protect and he had zero experience. That was one thing he respected about Marinette; she had other things to talk about, too, besides always going to the same material. She didn't wear her sexual frustration on her sleeve, so to speak. Unlike Nino who was about to jump Alya.

Alya stood up, "Adrien, do you have a bathroom?"

"That way," he pointed.

Alya grabbed Nino's hand and hoisted him out of the floor. Not looking at Adrien, but with a mischievous look in her eye, Alya said, "Thanks." She proceeded to drag Nino with her to the bathroom.

"What? In his bathroom?" Nino whispered as he chased after her.

The door latched and Adrien looked over at Marinette in horror. "I'm going to have to have that entire bathroom bleached!"

Marinette chuckled, "I'd recommend it."

He frowned. He'd thought he'd be the first one to have sex in his bathroom. Then again, when would he ever have that opportunity? Marinette saw the look on his face and could read his mind. She pulled out her phone and sent Alya a text.

[Marinette; Don't have sex in his bathroom.]

[Alya: Why not?]

[Marinette: Respect?]

[Alya: Ok. No sex. Promise.]

[Marinette: Thank you.]

Marinette pulled some papers out of her pink satchel to fan through. Adrien stared at her while she fiddled with her pamphlet. It was the one for Couture. He still couldn't figure out how she got into that school in the first place. Sure, they had a bachelors program, but you had to have some fashion props through a school or something first.

"How did you get into Couture?" he finally asked. The curiosity became too strong.

"Huh?"

"I thought you had to take fashion courses before they'd accept anyone into the bachelor program."

"Yes," she nodded and blushed, "Unless you have an exception like some experience in fashion and design. I, uh, put down your dad's competition wins on my application."

Adrien smiled, "You know, I actually think he'd be pleased to hear that." And he did, too. He truly believed his dad would want to know that he'd helped one of his friends get into a prestigious fashion school.

"You can tell him," she smiled shyly, "I don't mind."

The way she was nervous around him was adorable. Just yesterday he'd learned that Marinette had a thing for him from Nino. He'd been completely oblivious to it, but as soon as he said it there was a sudden realization. He remembered how it went, though, and his reaction wasn't what Nino had hoped for. He misunderstood him, but Adrien thought it was probably better that way.

**_Marinette had just had a stuttering episode in front of Adrien. She'd dropped her books, stubbed her toe, and mowed him down in one fell swoop. He could tell she was embarrassed. He helped her with her books, sent her on her way, and sat back down with Nino._ **

**_"Man, she's got it bad for you," Nino chuckled._ **

**_"Huh?"_ **

**_"Marinette," Nino gestured, pointing at Marinette, "She's like...ridiculously head over heels for you; literally."_ **

**_"No," Adrien looked incredulously at Nino. Nino snickered at him. "Really?"_ **

**_"You need to get your eyes checked, seriously, dude. That girl is HOT and she's been obsessed with you for years."_ **

**_Adrien just stared after her in confusion and then frowned at his feet. He didn't know. It was too late to investigate a relationship with Marinette now, though. He was engaged.  
_ **

**_"Whoa, dude, you don't have to feel guilty cause you don't like her back. Mari's awesome. She'd be cool with it. Sure, she'd probably be a little sad for a while, but she'd come around. She's friends with everyone."_ **

**_That made Adrien even more sad about the whole thing, but he couldn't let Nino know about his engagement with Ladybug. "That's why she stutters," Adrien grumbled._ **

**_Nino side-eyed Adrien, "You rich kids need to get out more. That's obvious."_ **

Now she was there being herself and he saw her with new eyes. His father would have loved her, too. Too bad he missed an opportunity to find out by being an idiot. That chance was gone, but at least she'd fallen in love with him and not the other way around. He was weak when it came to unrequited love; as evidenced by his relationship with Ladybug. He admired Marinette for still being his friend in spite of his ignorant rejection.

"So, Strasbourg?" Marinette asked glancing over at him absentmindedly fiddling with an unopened envelope. It was the one from Strasbourg.

"Yeah," he nodded, "And two places I don't even remember applying." He tossed them down on the floor.

"Hey! Architecture. Oooh, and Descartes! Nice."

Adrien nodded. He was sure his father had sent in applications for both of those schools in his stead because he wanted to keep him on a tight leash. Adrien, however, had planned to move out no matter where he went to school. Although, now that he was sitting here staring at the letters, he felt that staying in Paris wouldn't be too bad. Plus, it would save a long, boring trip for photo shoots, which he'd been told he would continue.

"I suppose," he nodded. He lifted one and tore it open. Strasbourg. "I got in!" he said handing it to her.

"Congratulations!" Marinette grinned.

He pulled the other two and opened them both. The letters he laid side by side while he and Marinette leaned forward to read them. He'd been accepted to all three of them.

"L-looks like a ha-har...difficult decision to make," Marinette smirked. She couldn't even say hard around Adrien yet. A blush crawled up her neck as she looked away.

"Hard, Marinette. You can say hard," he laughed. She put her hands over her face and he thought it was the most adorable thing. He leaned over and tickled her ribs. "Hard. Say it, Marinette. Hard."

"I ca-c-c-can't!" she shrieked and giggled, "I ca-can't! STOP!" He was tickling her mercilessly and she kept squirming.

"Just say it and I'll stop," he laughed.

He HAD made that joke earlier. Marinette growled through her giggles and said, "Hard. Now, stop!" He stopped tickling her and she got a gleam in her eye. It was mischievous. "My turn..." she jumped towards him, pushed him down to the ground, and climbed on top of him while she tickled mercilessly.

"Nooo!" he huffed through breathless giggles, "Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Marinette stopped tickling him and stared at his breathless form beneath her. "There. Now we're even." Then she realized where she was and scurried off.

"So...wh-what do you think?" she asked him finally while gesturing to his acceptance letters.

"I don't know, you?"

"I was thinking Couture. I'd never get in. I never thought. Not once."

Adrien smirked, "I was leaning towards Descartes, actually. The pamphlet says they have great science programs."

"L-local?"

He nodded, "You, too?"

"Y-yeah," she agreed.

"So..." he was going to mention the apartment discussion they'd had earlier, maybe they could be neighbors or something, but he'd be married by then. He didn't want to give her the wrong impression or get her hopes up.

"I guess we'll still see each other around next year."

"I'm sure we will."


	11. Hashing the Date

Ladybug slipped across the roof of the Louvre stealthily, but noticed Chat had beat her there. His back was to her, but his ears twitched when she landed.

"You're _always_ first," she sighed. One of these days she'd be where they planned to meet first. Or, at least, that's what she told herself.

"I had some time," he smiled, "I went on my patrol, my lady. I didn't see anything ahiss."

Ladybug rolled her eyes, "Chat." She dropped down to sit cross-legged, "Mine was uneventful, as well."

They both sat in silence on the roof of the Louvre in silence just enjoying each other's company. The sounds of the cars on the busy city streets were less and less frequent. In the distance they could hear patrons who were leaving as the museum closed.

"We need to discuss some things," Chat broke the silence, "As you are well aware, I had to be engaged by August. Although, my family is adamant that I be married by the end of this year."

"That is understandable," she nodded. It wasn't. She thought the entire idea of forcing someone to marry was crazy, but she wouldn't tell him that.

His eyes widened, "So before the end of the year is okay?"

Ladybug slung her head to look sideways at him, a look of 'duh' across her features, "I'm all in. You figure out the date and we'll do this; the sooner the better." Seriously, because with Adrien starting to show interest she was having trouble keeping him out of her head with the 'what ifs.' Her resolve was beginning to waver and she couldn't have that as a blemish in her integrity.

His face split into a grin, "Really? How about as soon as Master Fu gets the certificate back?"

"Sure," she nodded, "We're going to take pictures, right?"

He smirked, "You want pictures of our secret wedding?"

"You're right. It is dumb."

"NO!" he exclaimed, "It isn't! I just thought you wouldn't want to document our festivities seeing as they are so secret. I'd LOVE to have pictures."

Ladybug hid her blush, "You don't get married every day, you know?"

Her words made it all seem so much more real. Chat's heart swelled at her words and he got all sappy feeling inside. He could almost feel his suit cringe as Plagg fought the desire to flee on him. Chat sighed and leaned over to grab Ladybug's hand. There, they clasped hands together and just gently massaged each other's fingers. Chat stole a look at Ladybug. He felt like he knew her better than anyone and that made him feel soft and squishy inside.

"I was wondering," he mused aloud, "Once we have revealed our identities, do you think we could renew our vows and invite our family and friends? Do the whole wedding thing, again?"

She smiled, "After the reveal?" Ladybug pondered this for a minute and thought how much in-tune she and Chat were. She hadn't told him how she was pining for the wedding she'd never have where her father walked her down the aisle and her mother watched on lovingly as she took her vows and got married in the traditional fashion. Plus, she'd always wanted Alya up there with her. It was a dream she never thought would happen. Her eyes were misty with tears, she nodded, and her voice cracked, "I'd love that, Chat."

"Me, too," he reached out and squeezed her hand, "I always wanted the big wedding."

"Won't your family already know you're married?"

"My father," he nodded, "But he's not really involved much. He's normally very controlling, but for some reason he hasn't been very involved in this marriage process. I suppose I should be thankful, huh?"

She smirked, "I don't know if that's exactly what I'd call it."

Ladybug stole a look at Chat and giggled shyly. Sure, he wasn't Adrien, but she didn't really KNOW Adrien. Memorizing his schedule, following him around, and sneaking peeks at him made her more of a stalker than anything. She internally cringed at herself and how she'd treated that boy. One of these days, once she'd been married and was comfortable with Chat, she'd confess and apologize to him for it; even if he was ignorant. It would just be a way to clear her conscience. It might be selfish, but she really felt guilty all of a sudden. Although, looking over at Chat, Ladybug was sure she knew him better than anyone and he knew her the same. They were partners for the past four years and they spent more time together than she did with any of her other friends; Alya included. He might not know her name, where she lived, her parents, or anything like that, but he knew her soul better than anyone. That was the reason she didn't feel trepidation joining him at the altar. So far in life, they'd met, and defeated, all their obstacles, together. They worked together so well, too, like they could read what each other was thinking. This was serendipity, kismet, destiny, fate-whatever you want to call it, Ladybug was now a believer.

"I do want to have a honeymoon, Chat," she bit the side of her lip and tightened her squeeze on his hand.

"Oh?" he gave a sigh, purring, and squeezed her hand gently in assurance for her to continue.

"I don't necessarily mean THE night, but I do want to go on a honeymoon," she blew her bangs out of her eyes nervously, "Maybe we could arrange a night to reveal? Set it up to go on a date as our unmasked selves. What do you think?"

"A blind date?!" Chat leaned in and placed a gentle peck on her cheek, "You're so adorable when you're flea-ustered."

"Is that a yes, you think it is a good idea, or no?" her face was beet read and burning under her mask.

"Abso-mew-tly! I think it is a pant-astic idea! I'd get to take you out and spoil you, the real you, before taking you back to our hotel room and..."

"Cat got your tongue?" Ladybug chuckled at his lofty expression.

"Spoiling you," he leveled a smouldering leer and winked. His cheeks turned pink, but he fought through it to finish the thought. He couldn't let her get the best of him. Her responding giggle was enough to make it worth it.

"Kitty, kitty." She leaned forward and booped his nose, "Bad kitty. That's naughty."

His whispered out with a growl, "Not yet."

Ladybug gulped and leaned back, "Down boy."

With that, they decided it was time to go home. Marinette's medical evaluation was tomorrow. She was having her results mailed directly to Master Fu. He was going to make a copy, black out her identifying information, and let her fiance look over it before submission. He would do the same for her with Chat's results.

Adrien had an appointment tomorrow to get his medical evaluation done. He couldn't use his personal doctor because he didn't want his father knowing where he was having the information mailed. He found a local doctor who could run the basic health screening necessary for the evaluation. It was just the one time, right? No big deal.


	12. Medical Meet-up

 

 

 

Marinette took a shortcut to the medical clinic. There was an alleyway behind the bakery that she knew would come out on the one-way street over by the clinic. She couldn't go to the same doctor she'd seen since she was a little girl for fear he'd tell her parents and the cat would really be out of the bag. That thought made her chuckle silently to herself.

Once she got to the clinic she could see a couple cars parked out front. One was a powder blue, 1940s classic car with large fenders and a chrome bumper. "Beautiful," she sighed as she walked past it. There was a mostly empty waiting room when she walked in.

"Appointment?"

"Yes," she nodded, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

The lady at the front desk picked up a clipboard and handed it to her. "Fill out all your information and return this to the front desk. Thank you."

Marinette took a seat in the corner of the room. There was an older man reading a magazine across the room and an old woman, with her service dog, sitting just next to her. Marinette fanned through the sheets on the clipboard. There was a place for the address and she pulled out Master Fu's business card to fill in the correct information. Then she put in all her information as she normally would and returned the clipboard.

It took another twenty minutes, and about six people, some of whom had come in after she did. The nervousness was radiating out of her in the form of jittery fingers, tapping toes, and rubbing her thighs over and over. She kept glancing over at the door, as if expecting someone she knew to appear, and then hiding her head again. Then a nurse appeared at the door, "Marinette."

Marinette walked after the nurse, not sure what constituted a pre-marriage medical examination.

"Marinette," she smiled, "It looks like you are getting married! Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Her face felt hot and she looked away guiltily. Although, she hoped she just looked shy.

The nurse didn't seem to notice, "Let's go over your answers to the questionaire, shall we?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"All right. Let's see here. Are you on any medications?"

"No."

"Are you allergic to anything?"

"Not that I'm aware, although, my mom said I was allergic to honeybees when I was little," she shrugged, "I haven't been stung so I wouldn't know."

"What about any sensitivities to medications?"

"Nope."

"You have listed here...no sexual activity. Not even with your fiance?"

Marinette blushed, "No. Never."

"Well, we can skip the invasive venereal tests and the pap smears. Your annual should cover most of that regularly."

"Thanks. What do I have to do here?"

"Simple. I need weight, height, blood pressure, urine sample, and a blood draw for a CBC."

Marinette's eyes widened, "That sounds like a lot."

"No, honey, it'll take about ten minutes. I'll have you out of here in a jiffy. Piece of cake."

All that time waiting out in the reception room and she wasn't even going to see the doctor. She was just thankful she was eighteen so she didn't ask about her parents. Whew!

* * *

Adrien walked to the clinic out by his school. It was the only one he knew of without being the one he'd attended his entire life. It appeared to be pretty slow going there. He walked up and noticed a beautiful, powder blue, 1941 Citroen 11CV Traction Avant, in pristine condition sitting there. He was convinced it HAD to be the doctor's car. It stuck out like a sore thumb. He spent a minute walking around it and ogling the classic car.

When he walked in, the lady at the front desk handed him a clipboard, "Fill these out, young man."

Adrien found a seat in the corner to fill out the sheets. He pulled Master Fu's card out of his pocket to put down as his address. He couldn't afford to have anything come back to his father. He didn't want him to meddle with anything. He sat there for only a few minutes when the nurse was there calling his name.

"Adrien?" she called. Her eyes snapped right up to him, with obvious recognition, and he went in. He was sure he was given a couple killer looks before entering. He'd only just arrived and there were other people waiting. "Mr. Agreste, room two."

Adrien entered the room and saw it was a simple office like any other he'd been in; the bed, a stool, a light board, a sink, various jars of bandaids, swabs, tongue depressors, and alcohol wipes. The nurse sat down at the stool and pulled out her clipboard.

"Let's go over these records, shall we?"

"Sure," he nodded. He wasn't really comfortable with the way she was looking at him. If he'd known she was hungry he'd have brought her a sandwich or something.

He heard her sigh sadly and shake her head, "Well, that's a shame. There are going to be a lot of broken lonely hearts around this city. I see you marked pre-marital medical examination."

"Yes," he nodded.

The nurse screwed up her eyebrows like she was trying to figure out a really hard math problem, but kept coming up empty, "You were dating someone?"

"Yes," he nodded. _Obviously._

As if that was satisfactory, she sighed and kept going over his charts, "Allergic to feathers and grass. Interesting to be allergic to that." She giggled and Adrien cringed. "Let's see-no sexual activity," her eyes snapped up to him, wide and intrigued, "Seriously? None? Ever?"

"Never," he shook his head. There was a pause, "This is confidential, right?"

"Absolutely," she nodded.

"Okay, but do forgive me, I need your information in case it does get out. I'd hate to have to sue anyone for mishandling my private information, but I do have to be safe."

She pursed her lips, but nodded, "You can ask the receptionist."

"Thank you...Paulette," he read her name tag, "Much appreciated."

Paulette pulled out a form, "You aren't going to need the venereal disease screening, but we will need height, weight, a urine sample, and a CBC."

"All right," he nodded, "I'm ready."

* * *

Marinette left the clinic, feeling woozy, and decided to get an ice cream from the street vendor. She sat down on the bench across the street to rest a minute. She'd been there only a minute when someone was standing in front of her, blocking the sun out of her eyes. Marinette leaned back and gazed up.

"A-Adrien?"

"May I join you?" he asked, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

"Oh, be my guest," she smiled scooting over on the bench to make room.

He sat down and noticed the ice cream she was eating, "Oooh, that looks good. Be right back." He hopped up to get one and when he returned he had a large waffle cone with vanilla ice cream hanging out of it and dripping down his fingers. He plopped back down by Marinette, "What are you up to today?"

Marinette shrugged, "Blood tests. They're looking for...uh...anemia." She stuttered enough in front of him he wouldn't be able to tell she was fibbing. "What are you doing out this way?"

"Blood tests," he sighed, "Yeah, checking for anemia. So weird that they think you might be anemic, too." He was glad she came up with the perfect excuse for him.

"I know, right?" she smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure my dietician will have a heart attack if I come back anemic," he chuckled.

"I b-bet," she nodded.

They hadn't talked for a couple days and he thought it was a good idea to have a chat with Marinette since she could very well be his neighbor in the immediate future. That thought made him grin.

"W-what are you th-inking about?" she asked.

"Moving out," he sighed, "I can't wait for college."

Marinette's eyes widened fractionally, to stare intensely at her ice cream in an attempt to keep her heart calm, considering he and she had a sort of living agreement she'd rather not try to think about. _I'm getting married. I'm getting married. I'm getting married. AND I love him. I do. He loves me, I love him, it's not a persona._

Adrien realized she was tense so he looked frantically for a way to lighten the mood. He was worried about college, too. It was a big time in a person's life where they really find out who they are and break out of the shells that have been fortified by their parents at home. He was a little nervous about all the responsibility, too. A bit of ice cream was dripping down Marinette's fingers. Adrien leaned over and licked it off with a chuckle.

_He licked me! ADRIEN LICKED ME!_ She didn't know if she should be repulsed or honored. She figured it was probably as close to a kiss as she'd ever get. It was such a strange thing for him to do, so out of his usual character, she couldn't help, but giggle.

"You have to EAT it, Marinette," he smiled, "Or it'll drip all over you."

"Y-yeah," she nodded, quickly shoving the cone in her mouth to suck most of the drippier parts off. As she made quick work of cleaning it up she realized Adrien was just watching her, unmoving, mesmerized.

Adrien couldn't manage to breathe. He didn't know why, but there was some envy for that ice cream cone. He quickly reprimanded himself, for plenty of reasons, and shook his head to clear it. "Uh...I've got to go." He stood up suddenly, "I'll see you later?"

She nodded, "Sure."

"Till then, Marinette."

"Later, Adrien." She waved lazily after him to make sure he was out of ear shot to let all of her tension out in the form of a tiny shrill squeal.

Well, on a positive note, both of their medical evaluations were done and neither one was the wiser. Now, they'd just have to wait until Master Fu received them to go over the results before mailing them in.

 


	13. A Calling

The week at school had passed by without so much as a peep out of an akuma. There were more students skipping class now more than ever. Senioritis is nothing to mess around with. Half the class had figured out they could take most of the days left, off, and still graduate...so they did. There were half a dozen of them who pitched tents on the side lawn and decided to camp out and skip classes the next day. There were police officers standing guard, thanks to Sabrina notifying her dad that some of her friendly reprobates had decided to trespass indefinitely. Marinette, however, was not that lucky.

She was already in the hot seat as far as missing classes was concerned. Thanks to her moonlighting job as Ladybug she was in a perpetual state of exhaustion. Anyone could guess that's why Adrien was there, too, but Marinette just assumed his modeling schedule was to blame; she was partially right. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, Chloe wasn't there. Chloe had missed as many days as they had, but apparently she was able to get out of class regardless.

Heavy sigh. "I wish I could skip classes," Marinette looked around the mostly empty room and realized she was talking to Kim, Alix, Rose, and Adrien. Everyone else had enough days available to skip. "I hate my life." That's when her head became good friends with the desk. Her eyes flashed up as someone was petting the top of her head. Her blue eyes met green.

"Cheer up, buttercup. You get to hang out with me!" He'd meant it as a joke. Marinette's mind short circuited. She just stared at him without being able to talk. Eventually, she remembered how to breathe and let out the breath she'd been holding. Marinette actually did consider that a legitimate reason NOT to skip class. She wasn't so sure she would have if she'd known Adrien would be in class, too. _How pathetic_ she thought.

Adrien glanced at the empty seat next to Marinette and frowned. Then he glanced at the empty seat next to him and smiled. His hand reached out slowly, and emphatically, tapped the top of the desk, "Why don't you come sit next to me?" _I'd hate to think, later in life, that we spent the last week of high school sitting by ourselves, sulking._ Even if that was exactly what they both wanted to do and the other was to blame, indirectly.

Marinette smiled, "O-okay." She stepped out from behind her desk, her toe catching the table leg, and down she went. Adrien was fast enough with his reflexes to catch her before she hit the floor. He was bent over her and chuckled, "I'm used to having girls fall for me, Marinette, but you're taking this to a whole new level." Then he winked. Marinette thought she'd melt into a puddle right there in his arms. _Too much?_ he chuckled to himself, blaming his internal wild-side, aka code name Chat, for that.

"Th-thank you," she blushed, "I'm so clumsy."

"I'm just messing with you, Mari," he smirked.

Marinette was genuinely touched that he was only flirting with her to make her feel better about herself, but the other part of her winced realizing that he wasn't necessarily aware of her feelings for him; permanently friend-zoned. Yes, Chat was the better choice, considering. Her nerves started to ease a little. It was almost healing letting herself let go of her feelings for Adrien.

That's when there was a crashing sound and sirens. Ugh. The class scurried out to find their secure locations. At the end of the hall all the seniors, who had been camping out on the side lawn, came plowing into the hallway looking for a place to hunker down. Marinette and Adrien didn't follow the rest, but they happened to be going the same direction.

"Where are you going, Marinette?"

"I have to pee," she lied, "Where are you going?"

"I have to pee, too," he couldn't come up with anything better, "Pee fast." Adrien was worried about Marinette's safety. The concern was not lost on her.

"Like-wise," she answered, equally as concerned for Adrien.

They both ran into their bathrooms. Adrien ran in a little too fast and slipped on the freshly washed floors, slamming into a sink. He winced, but transformed anyway. Marinette did the same and jumped out of the window. Adrien ran back out into the hall making his way over to the girl's bathroom and peeked in, glancing under the stalls. He didn't see Marinette. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what might have happened. Alya wasn't at school. He couldn't imagine clumsy Marinette being able to do what Alya did, but he was sure she was going to be out there attempting to get her some footage for her blog. Chat sighed heavily and launched himself out into the Paris air.

In the distance, Chat could see a large creature, a brilliant purple, metallic thing, covered in what looked like scrollwork, carrying around a car. The creature picked the car up and launched it across the street. It was a pretty, expensive sports car.

"I'm Decal Demon," he smiled maliciously, "I'm here to destroy the lack of imagination!" He screamed as he picked up another expensive looking sports car and chucked it. Ladybug was already there searching for the Akuma. What she had noticed so far is he had super strength and when he grabbed, or touched, cars they would be covered in intricate decal work. Marinette saw hanging at his waist was a large bottle of what looked like paint, but it was shimmery black and purple.

"The akuma," she whispered to herself.

"Afternoon, beautiful," Chat smiled as he slid to a stop next to her.

"Chat! The spray bottle on his belt," she pointed, "The akuma is in it." She stood back and threw her yo-yo into the air, "Lucky charm!" A plain foil balloon appeared in her hands, with helium already in it, as she made her way towards the demon.

Chat launched himself towards the large metallic guy. "Decal Demon? More like Decal Diva!" he smirked.

The demon laughed at him, "Give me your miraculous!"

"Why would I want to do something like that?" The metallic guy reached out to hit Chat and he jumped away.

Ladybug stood in front of him now with her plain balloon. She could see he was distracted while Chat was making his way around the giant creature.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked looking at the plain metallic balloon.

"Cataclysm!" Chat's hand bubbled with a black energy and he jumped towards the guy's belt from behind. His hand collided with the paint can and a little black butterfly flew out. He looked over to Ladybug who had been standing there just enjoying watching him.

"De-evilize! Fly away little Akuma," she turned back to Chat who was panting. She could tell something was up. "What's wrong?"

"Ow," he growled, grabbing his chest, "I'm fine."

"No, Chat, you look like you are in pain. The charm should have..."

"Not this. I broke my rib before. There's no way to fix that," he sighed.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" she asked.

"NO!" the horror of the suggestion flashed across his face.

Ladybug leaned down and wrapped an arm around him. Then she leaned in and placed her hand gently on his chest where he was holding his rib. He winced and hissed. She'd barely touched him when he jumped. "You have to go somewhere."

"I'm meeting with Fu tonight," he said, "I got a text earlier. 6:00."

"That's too long, mon minou," she whispered. Then she pulled out her phone and called Master Fu, "Chat needs to see you as soon as possible. He hurt himself. Before the transformation. Now? Ok. Thank you." She turned to Chat, "He says he can see you now. Go, Chat."

He nodded. School would most likely be cancelled anyway, "Ok. Thanks." He didn't know why, but he leaned in to give her a half hug and a little peck on the cheek. They both blushed and he vaulted off towards Master Fu's office.


	14. To The Fu

Chat transformed into Adrien in a small alcove of bushes just outside of Master Fu's building. He walked up to the front door where the elderly gentleman was waiting for him.

"Good afternoon," he said with a sparkle in his eye, "I've been expecting you."

Adrien grimaced as he tried to hold the door for himself. Master Fu swatted at him and said, "No, I hold the door for you."

Adrien sat down on the cushion opposite Master Fu and was presented with a hot cup of tea. It was a green, amber color with little bits of herbs floating in it.

"Drink," the man gestured, "For your ribs." He gestured to the boy's chest. Then he appeared with a little wooden crate that he opened to reveal a couple small pots, fabric, little glass jars, a couple candles, and half a dozen dark, fluid filled bottles.

"Lay down, please," he said, bringing over a mat for Adrien to lay on. The man pulled out a thick strip of fabric, opened one of the pots, and smeared some of the yellow goop on it. Then he opened one of the little dark bottles with a 'pop.' He poured some of that on the cloth and pressed it gently against the noticeable bruise on Adrien's chest. The smell was strong, but not overpowering. There was a bit of a minty smell to it. On his chest it started to feel cool and warm at the same time.

"Sleep with that and it will heal," the man nodded matter of factly.

Adrien just sat up gingerly before realizing it was already feeling better.

"Let us get to business," Master Fu announced as he pulled out a manila folder with the name Chat on it, "Ah, here is your medical evaluation. Please look it over."

The only information that had been redacted was his name. There was his birthday, hair, and eye color staring back at him. He smiled; nothing she didn't already know.

Adrien scanned his information and frowned. His hemoglobin was a little low. Then later there was a serum iron test that was performed that indicated he was slightly anemic. He couldn't believe it! He hadn't lied after all, but he was sure to have a lengthy conversation with his dietician after this. He handed it back to Master Fu, "Well, looks like I'm anemic."

"That appears to be the only issue," Master Fu nodded. "Here is your fiance's records." He looked at her records, realizing the same information had been redacted, and he smiled. His smile stayed there as he scanned down her information until he got to one part and frowned, "What does this mean?"

Master Fu knew what he was referring to, "Nothing to worry about."

"Elevated eosinophils? What does that mean?"

"It means your future wife likely has allergies," he smiled, "They're not to high."

Adrien nodded, "Allergies. Okay."

"Now I need your signature on this marriage certificate appication," he said handing him the packet of papers he had printed off that were ready to send in.

Adrien received them, flipped through it to make sure everything was right, and signed. He noticed Master Fu had taped pieces of black paper over what he could only presume was his fiance's information. He felt giddy all of a sudden thinking about it. His Ladybug's identity was in his hands and he was shaking with the knowledge. What a responsibility?He wouldn't betray her trust and he handed it back to Master Fu.

"That is all I need, young man," he bowed.

"Master Fu, can I ask you a question?"

Master Fu's eyes twinkled as he nodded.

"Could you tell me, what is she like?"

Master Fu smiled softly, "She is a wonderfully glorious creature and you are lucky to have her."

Adrien's heart began to pump stronger, steadily, and his chest swelled with excitement. A little sigh escaped his lips without his permission.

Master Fu chuckled, "You will know her soon enough. Have a good day."

* * *

Upon exiting, Adrien lazily roamed the streets on this side of Paris. He rarely had a reason to come this way. The trees were filled with birds yelling at everyone and everything. Heaven help the poor bystander that gets in the way of the spring mating frenzy. Even the trees were having their say as was evidenced by all the yellow, grainy pollen that clung to every surface. Nothing like breathing in the promiscuous activities of other organisms. Blech.

He eventually ducked into a nearby alley to change back into Chat. His ribs were still screaming with a dull, throbbing ache and he was sure Plagg could help with the pain.

"Come on, kid, you expect a transformation on an empty stomach? What do you take me for? I'm not some cabana boy at your beck and ca-AAAH!"

Plagg was interrupted with "Plagg, claws out." Internally, Adrien could just feel the negative energy of Plagg cursing him out through his suit. He smiled to himself, "You better chill or I'll go find a fountain to wade in." He could just imagine Plagg replying with 'you wouldn't dare,' and smiled mischievously to himself.

He decided to get a little patrol time in on this side of town. There was rarely any trouble on this side of the school. For some reason everything happened more towards city center. Chat didn't think much of it, but smiled to himself knowing that all the paperwork that could solidify his entire life was done. He was more excited than a child turned loose in a candy store. This was, second to Ladybug accepting his proposal, one of the best days of his life. Just in less than a couple weeks his life had gone from a controlled, dismal, despair filled existence to one filled with the potential of freedom, love, and a warm future with someone he loved more than himself in it. Hopefully, forever! He couldn't silence his lovesick sigh as he thought of her.

Just then, below him, he caught the sight of someone familiar. From this angle, he could only see the top of her head, her blue satchel, a pink sachet, and the blue jean jacket she'd been wearing that day; the rhinestones glittering back up at him. Then, Chat realized he'd only seen Marinette from this angle maybe twice. What was she doing in this part of town? He decided to investigate. Curiosity...dang cat.

He hopped down gracefully in front of her and she emitted a gasp. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. Marinette knew she was a little early, thankfully, because now she'd have to make a detour. This was bad. Chat wasn't supposed to be here. He should have been done a while ago. There was a sincere freak out starting to grow inside of Marinette's subconscious. What if he knew? How did he know? What was she going to do now? Was he going to call it off? That's when he leered at her and Marinette internally sighed at herself. Nope, she was in the clear. Thank goodness!

"Whew, you scared me, Chat," she laid her hand across her chest to slow her heart beating.

Chat smiled, "Good afternoon, sweet Marinette." He reached for her hand and kissed it. "You are looking paw-sitively lustrious today."

Her head dropped to hide her pink cheeks. There were two things Marinette didn't take well; flirtation and compliments. In Adrien's case, attention at all. Chat was showering her with compliments and with an added hint of flirtation. The blush was inevitable, but she rolled her eyes and sighed, "Thanks, Chat." His flirting knew no bounds.

"Where are you off to?" he followed after her as she rushed away. He slid around her, trying to read her expressions, coming uncomfortably close to rubbing against her. His inner cat, namely Plagg, was running on empty as far as cheese was concerned. True to his being a cat, he was craving affection now in the absence of food and Adrien was at his mercy. He grimaced as he realized he had a strong desire to snuggle up against her. He mentally screamed at Plagg to stop making him feel so needy. It wasn't going to help.

"Chat," she balked when he did finally slide gently against her with his head rubbing her shoulder, "Are you all right?"

"Yes," he smiled, internally chastising himself. "I'm just hungry."

"Go home and eat," she suggested with a smile.

"I would, purr-incess, but I'm afraid I am enjoying myself too much at the moment," he smiled.

Marinette panicked. She needed a diversion to shake off this clingy kitty. The only thing she could think of was a little garden shop ahead where she'd purchased some vegetable seeds a while back. "Well, you're going to have to excuse me as I have some business to attend to." He watched after her as she sped off towards the garden shop.

Chat chased after her momentarily, "Well then, my sweet, Marinette, I must bid you adieu."

Marinette gritted her teeth _my sweet Marinette, my ass. He better knock this flirting-with-random-girls thing off when we're married. Bad, kitty._ "Bye, Chat," she grumbled as she ran into the garden store. She was not pleased he was still so flirty with girls that weren't Ladybug. Maybe that flirting was just part of Chat. That was one thing they'd have to discuss...later.

Chat watched her disappear into the garden shop and chuckled to himself. He knew she was a sweet girl and he probably just made her day. He knew she had a soft spot for him. The making her blush was an added bonus. He loved making Marinette blush. If only he'd had the guts to do that more without the mask as it was adorable. For some reason Adrien was much more successful than Chat and that vexed him to no end. Why? Chat was so much more aggressive with his affections towards her. What gives?

* * *

Marinette arrived at Master Fu's office a little ahead of schedule. She remembered back to the day when she had been sitting here eating an ice cream with Adrien. That had been a good day; although, thinking back on it she couldn't figure out why she couldn't keep her real life separate from her secret one. It just seemed like they were destined to mingle. She sighed in frustration.

"Good evening," Master Fu smiled while watering his flowers, "I see you have arrived early."

"Yes, sorry," she blushed. "I wasn't trying to..."

"I know," he nodded, "Although, I couldn't blame you if you were. He is quite the catch."

Marinette gulped. Her brain was completely unable to process that. There was a 'cannot compute' that flashed in front of her. Chat, her Chat? A catch? She knew he was attractive, but had no idea how attractive. She bit the side of her lip and sighed softly, sadly.

"Yes, yes, sorry, not making this any easier, am I?" he smiled as he opened the front door to escort her in.

They made their way to his desk, the same place Adrien had been sitting less than an hour previously, and he handed her the medical report from a packet labeled 'Ladybug.'

She flipped through it and scanned all the information, "Raised eosinophils?" she glanced up at him for a clarification.

"That typically means allergies," he smiled, "You were probably affected by allergies at the time of the test."

"Oh," she nodded. Then she handed it back to him, "Looks fine to me."

"Yes, healthy," he nodded, "Here is your betrothed's."

Marinette grabbed the sheets with shaking hands. She scanned through the information before settling on the low hemoglobin. "Low hemoglobin?"

"He is slightly anemic," he nodded.

Marinette remembered Adrien had said he thought he might be anemic, "What is it with boys and anemia these days?"

Master Fu raised an eyebrow, "Pardon?"

"I know of more than one person with anemia."

"There is a trend away from red meat," he mused and she nodded.

"Well, is there anything else?"

He produced the packet with all of Chat Noir's information blocked by thick strips of black construction paper taped over the top. Marinette was so nervous holding such precious, life altering information in her hands. She picked it up, scanned her information, and signed the forms. When she handed it back to Master Fu she sighed, relieved.

"I should have this back in a couple weeks," he winked, "Do let me know when you would like to make things official."

She blushed, "Yes, sir. I will." Marinette sat there a moment longer and peeked up at Master Fu, shyly, "Can you tell me about him? Anything?"

"He is quite the amazing man and you are lucky to have him." _They are lucky to have each other._

With that Marinette left for home feeling, for the first time in a few days, over the moon with excitement.


	15. Conversations

Marinette sat on her bed, her head pounding. There was so much stress associated with keeping so many secrets. She'd been avoiding Alya for a solid week, not that it was hard with how much time Alya was dedicating to her family these days. Although, now she was getting text messages.

Alya: You there, girl? I want to hang out with you before I leave for Spain. Please? We have to get together.

Marinette: Spain. I'm still jealous. Yeah, we should do something.

Marinette internally cringed. She was afraid of what Alya might drag out of her today. She'd have to keep it simple, secret, and avoid talkin about herself and the last couple weeks of her life. Yeah, NOT talk about the single, most important event of her life to date. What's hard about that? Not that her best friend wants to be a journalist and will pull it all out of her. _Ugh. Bury me._

Alya: TODAY! You, me, street food. It'll be fun.

Marinette weighed the option and agreed. No biggie. With food shoved in her mouth she'll have less time to talk.

Marinette: Sure.

Marinette slipped on a button up blouse with eyelet lace over a baby blue tank top. It was tied at the bottom and the rest was left open. She had on a pair of khaki shorts and white boat shoes. Her mother insisted she wear sunscreen and a white bucket hat to protect her from the sun.

"Okay, maman," she kissed her on the cheek and grabbed a eclair.

"I don't want to see a sunburn!" she called.

"Wouldn't think of it. I'll be diligent, I promise."

Marinette ran across the street to the park where Alya was waiting, already tearing into a pretzel.

"YOU!" she pointed and yelled, "Are a cheater!"

"What do you mean?" Marinette smiled sheepishly as she attempted to down the rest of her eclair as quickly as possible.

"We were supposed to be eating off the street, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Alya glared.

Marinette scoffed, "You started without me."

"Don't make this about me. You..." she pointed at her with a finger and began giggling, "Dang it, Marinette, why do your parents have to own a bakery and make delicious food."

Marinette smirked, "Because we're talented like that."

"You are talented in more ways than baking, my friend," she wrapped an arm around her, "As we all know because you got into the coolest school in France."

Marinette blushed, "No, Alya, just the coolest design school."

"HEY, HEY!" The girls whipped around as they heard a familiar voice from behind them. It sounded like Nino.

"NINO!" Alya chuckled, feigning surprise, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here to watch the canine agility competition. You?"

"Uh, yeah, us, too," Alya glanced at Marinette and smiled back at Nino, "Sure, the canine agility competition."

Marinette sighed. She had a sneaking suspicion that she'd been set up.

"Yo, dude, Adrien my main man!" Nino perked up calling over Marinette's shoulder.

Adrien glanced at the three standing there and noticed Marinette was avoiding his gaze. They'd been having a pretty good run the past week or so. "Nino, Alya, Marinette." The way he said Marinette at the end, with a gentleness, made Marinette look up at him. He could see hesitation. _What am I doing wrong?_

Marinette had been avoiding Adrien for good reason. Her feelings were evolving for him, enriching. She knew she'd always just lusted after him, not real love by any means since she didn't even know him, but now that she'd been spending time with him she felt like she was becoming more comfortable with him as a person. Her lust was turning, dare she think, into something more? She couldn't handle it; especially, because she was starting to feel something reciprocal was there. She also knew she loved Chat and he was a sure thing. *sigh* Then and there, with him that day, she was determined to remain friends and try to treat him as one.

"What have you been up to, Marinette?" Nino asks nonchalantly.

"Designs, mostly. Working around the bakery some, too." Alya must have picked up on her mood. She didn't know what she'd done that might have betrayed her cover, but something tipped her off.

"Girl, there's something you're not telling us," Alya said immediately. She glanced to the boys for some help, but received blank stares. Then she looked back to Marinette who was looking at her like she'd just read her diary.

Marinette hissed as she let her air out slowly, "I'm just tired, Alya. Stressing about school and stuff. There's a lot going on."

Alya bought it. She put her arm around Marinette and squeezed, "I understand." Alya let go and turned her gaze on Adrien, "Okay, what about you?"

He held his hands up in defense. Why was she turning on him? He hadn't said anything. "Whoa, what makes you think something's going on with me?"

"You keep smiling like a dang idiot," Alya smirked, "And you've been somewhere else since you got here. 'Alya, Nino, Marinette' then GONE!"

He nodded, "I've been having pretty good luck lately." Unusual, actually. Ladybug really was his good luck charm. _Ladybug_ he thought with a sigh.

"THAT!" Nino pointed out, "I saw that. Now I see what you're talking about Alya."

"Alya!" Marinette chided, "Why does this feel like a set up."

"Cause it is," she smiled, "You all have been acting funny and I wanted to make sure everything was on the smooth and steady before Nino and I head to Spain."

"I'll be fine," Adrien assured them. _Better than fine._

Marinette glanced over at Adrien, confused by the way he was acting so light. Normally, he was quiet, shy, sweet, a bit serious, and very VERY private. She was curious as to what might have lead to this change of heart. Could it be her? The thought made her feel sick to her stomach, but she still felt compelled to find out.

Alya grabbed Nino's hand and walked ahead of them looking for a place to pick up some good grub. They left Adrien and Marinette to walk awkwardly behind them feeling like two wheels joined by a broken axle.

"So..." Marinette started, nervously, "Y-you're happy."

"Yeah!" he nodded with a grin, "I am, actually."

"D-did something happen?"

"Yes," he nodded, biting his lip, "I received some good news and I'm starting a new project with my father." Not a complete lie. It was a marriage 'commissioned' by his father, right?

"Oh," she nodded, "I see."

"What is going on with you?"

"You h-heard," she sighed, "Not a whole lot. Your father? How is he doing?" Adrien stopped walking and stared at her. Marinette was a few feet ahead of him before she realized he'd stopped walking and turned to face him. "Adrien?"

"I...I don't know," he admitted, feeling guilty, "All right, I suppose." Adrien actually thought of his father as a machine more than a man. Now he felt kind of guilty about that. He felt a smile come to his face that Marinette had shown concern for his father; someone he hadn't even shown concern for in who knows how long.

"That's good," she nods. "So what are you doing for break?"

"I don't know, honestly," he sighed, "I decided to enroll at Descartes."

"That's big! You picked one. That's amazing. We're both staying in Paris," she mumbled quickly.

"Yeah," he nodded, "About that...do you still want to look at getting an apartment or something? I promise, I'm clean and quiet."

Marinette gaped at him, lost for words, "Uh-um-ah." _What about Chat_? Then she thought more, what if Adrien brought girlfriends back? That would be heartbreaking. Man, now she felt really bad she'd agreed to this. Although, being true to her word, she supposed she'd have to deal with it. She'd be married. It is none of her business.

"If you don't want to, don't worry," he held his hands up, "Nothing is set in stone." He could see the worried contemplation on her face. She shook her head and snapped out of it.

"No, I mean, yes, I would like that to be an option," she nodded.

"Really?" Adrien didn't know anything about Ladybug, but he assumed she was going to college pretty far away by the way she talked. He was sure she wouldn't mind him living with Marinette. After all, his devotion was pretty obvious.

"Really," she nodded. "So, what does your father have to say about it?"

Adrien scoffed, "I, uh, haven't told him yet."

"Adrien!? I don't think you understand. I'd like to work with him someday," she glanced at him nervously.

Adrien automatically corrected the 'with' to 'for' as his father rarely worked WITH anyone. He rubbed his hair nervously, "Yeah, I'll talk to him...sometime." He couldn't tell her that he'd been purposely avoiding his father ever since his meeting to tell him he was engaged. At this point, he hadn't forgiven him for the situation in the first place and he wasn't giving him a chance to change his mind until it was final. He just couldn't bring himself to respect him enough to keep him in the loop when it came to his life right now. Sure, it would probably come back to bite him in the ass, but right now he was just enjoying NOT being under his thumb. He'd taken some of the control back and he wanted to prolong that as long as possible.

Marinette noticed the conflict under the surface and reached out to elbow him gently, "He's _your_ dad. I shouldn't pry." Still feeling guilty about all the prying she had done.

The look she received was surprised. He scanned over her face, looking for something, and she just smiled shyly back at him. She didn't know why he was looking at her so tenderly now all of a sudden. "He and I don't really have much of a personal relationship," he grimaced.

Marinette nodded sadly. It made her ache in her chest to think of Adrien being so unhappy at home. "I'm sorry," was all she could manage, "You can borrow my parents if you want. They always wanted a son." _WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. HECK.?!_ Marinette blushed and jerked her head to look away quickly, embarrassed she'd even said something like that. She bit her lip and whined internally.

Adrien noticed she was flustered and chuckled, "I'd be lucky if that were true. I've always loved your parents."

Marinette beamed back at him, "It's true. Mom keeps asking when I'm bringing you by again."

He laughed, "Looks like we'll need to plan a lunch together again...soon." As if on cue his stomach rumbled and they both looked at each other with a snicker.

"Sounds like sooner rather than later."

"Street food, remember?" Adrien reminded Marinette, though she could see he said it sadly. He really did like eating at her house. She could tell that was sincere and it made her so happy.

Alya and Nino found a burrito place and grinned back at Adrien and Marinette. Their friends were so deep in conversation that they didn't even realize they were staring.

"He's got it bad."

"She's got it bad."

They said it in unison and glanced at each other before bursting out into laughter. This caught Adrien and Marinette's attention. They were still laughing when Adrien finally reached out and grabbed Nino's hat off his head.

"What's so funny?"

Nino jumped up and grabbed his hat, his sides hurting, "Dude! Don't touch the hat."

Alya smirked at them, "Did you two have a good talk? Good talk?" she glanced from one to the other.

Marinette blushed, "I guess."

They ordered burritos and sat down on a couple benches to eat them. Alya and Nino shared a bench on one side of the walkway while Adrien and Marinette shared the one across from them.

"You must look like your mom," Marinette was brazenly following the contours of Adrien's face and noting the coloring. She didn't even know why she said that out loud. All she did know was that she kept looking at him and not seeing his dad much at all.

Adrien looked sad all of a sudden, "Yeah." The silence was awkward and tense. Finally, Adrien continued, "I think that's why he can't look at me."

Marinette stopped eating and felt guilty, "Oh. He must have loved her very much."

Adrien nodded and gulped. To her horror, he looked almost like he was going to curl up into a ball and hide. He must have loved her very much. Marinette wanted to kick herself! Why couldn't she leave his personal life alone?

Marinette reached out to gently stroke his forearm, "Don't be upset. I'm an awfully nosey friend. I'm sorry. I'll shut up now."

Adrien jerked his head her direction so fast she thought he might get whiplash. His eyes were wide and shocked, "NO! You're not, Marinette." He threw an arm behind her and leaned back, "I'm just...it's hard. You know?"

She reveled in the intimacy, even if it was platonic, that she and Adrien were sharing. She could see Alya staring and whispering conspiratorially to Nino. Marinette didn't care. Let them talk. "Yeah, I can only imagine. I'm still sorry."

"My mom was amazing and, yes, my father was **_desperately_ ** in love with her."

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

Adrien shrugged, "No. She was such an outgoing person. One day I woke up and she was gone."

They talked for a long time; he talked about his mom, his father, his life in general.

"I don't know how to get through to him. I think he's forgotten how to love, or he won't let himself anymore, you know? He always looks like he's placid and unfeeling, but sometimes I can see how much he hurts," Adrien frowned, "I wish he could see how much it hurts me. That's why he isn't interested in getting to know me." He paused to see how Marinette would react. She didn't look like she was uncomfortable or anything; she was just listening to him, without judgement. Adrien smiled to himself at how lucky he was to have such a good listener. He just had an urge to tell someone, anyone, because the person he wants to tell he can't and the person he is closest to right now, other than Ladybug, happened to be Marinette. Marinette listens and she became even more enamored with him, but she sits there trying her hardest not to.

Marinette was listening to Adrien, attempting to keep her face calm and collected, engaged, like she was listening intently and her heart wasn't breaking for him. Although, it totally was. Marinette felt like she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him that she loved him; not even in the way she wanted to. She did love him like a friend, too, and she just wanted to let him know she was there. Dang nerves. He needed a hug in the worst way. Screw it.

Marinette leaned over and gave Adrien a hug. At first, he was tense, but then he realized just how much he wanted and needed that hug. He wrapped his arms around her and held on like she was the oxygen to his flame. He didn't want it to go out. Eventually, he felt Marinette loosen and lean back. He felt the absence immediately, but smiled at her.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"Me, too," she nodded. Then she pushed the conversation to a lighter topic, "What do you do when you're at home?"

"I play lots of video games and watch television. I read some and write a lot."

"What do you write?"

"Short stories, mostly. I don't even know why, but I just like to escape into a word processor once in a while. I turn on some good music and disappear. I like to disappear." He stopped at that somber thought before continuing. Marinette was being a great listener and he figured if she didn't run away from him earlier when it got heavy he was going to keep talking. "I sing a lot, too, in the shower. I'm not the greatest, but I like it." Marinette grinned. She liked to imagine Adrien singing in the shower. It was one of her favorite things to do, too. The acoustics were just so much better in a shower.

She talks about her family and their traditions.

"We make all kinds of different cookies at Christmas; regular sugar cookies, ice box cookies, yeast rounds, spritz, springerle, spiced, and everything. We just love making them. My dad carves a springerle mold every year and we hang the cookies on the tree. We have a mold for every year since they got married-that's twenty-four cookie molds this year." Adrien thought the tradition of making a new cookie mold each year, for a new edible ornament for the tree, was an awesome tradition. He decided right then and there he was going to steal it and make one for he and Ladybug's first Christmas.

He talked about his favorite interests. They discuss, perhaps, doing things together over the summer. Marinette and Adrien had equally devoid summer plans; him modeling for his father and her helping out in the bakery. Neither realized how much time they'd spent talking until Nino and Alya are in front of them.

"You're going to miss the canine agility competition if you sit here and chit chat all day," Nino raised his eyebrows as he looked from one to the other in an accusatory manner.

Marinette and Adrien exchanged knowing glances before bursting into laughter. The effortless way time passed without either of them knowing it made them both feel exhilarated and delightfully nervous. Although, somewhat not so delightfully, too.


	16. Graduation

The last day of school finally approached; for the last years, anyway. Graduation was going to be that evening and they were all excited to finally be done with school. All baccalaureates taken and universities applied to. Now it was the final walk in lycée.

Marinette had been plotting in her free time. She'd arranged for Nino, Alya, and her to all send graduation invitations to Gabriel Agreste so he'd be sure he knew when his son's graduation was. Marinette had gotten it into her head that she was going to invite him into Adrien's life though a barrage of inclusion and her undying admiration for the man. If she couldn't show Adrien how much she adored him she'd attempt to show his father for his sake. Sure, this could come back to bite her, but at least he'd know who she was and remember. Who knows? He might even appreciate her efforts and sincere affection for his son.

Adrien showed up at school that morning with a smirk on his face. He walked up to the group of them standing on the front steps, "Okay, who did it?" He was holding three identical graduation invites. He glanced around at his friends and bit his lip to try and appear stern, but his smirk was showing anyway.

Alya and Nino pointed silently at Marinette who blushed and shrunk as she pulled her shoulders up to her ears, "Thanks, guys, way to throw me under the bus."

Adrien burst out laughing at that and threw his arms around Marinette, "Thank you, Marinette!" he practically shouted. "My father is coming to graduation! He told me this morning he received an 'embarrassing' number of graduation invitations from my friends and Natalie suggested he attend since he was obviously so popular at the school. Anything for his image, I guess." Adrien chuckled to himself at that. At least he was coming. He'd even cancelled a trip to Moscow just to attend.

"W-wow! I n-never really thought. It worked," Marinette's face was a deep shade of scarlet. Adrien had hugged her. Sure, she'd hugged him a few days ago, but it was definitely a loose, friendly hug during a pretty intense conversation. This was out of gratitude and it floored her.

"IT DID, though!" he exclaimed. He practically pranced into school that day light on his feet. Marinette let herself smile like an idiot knowing that SHE had done THAT.

The day was pretty uneventful. The teachers didn't have anything for them to do, being the last day, but it was still mandatory. To walk at graduation they all had to attend today.

That evening, Marinette was in her bedroom throwing on a sundress she'd made in a print of white calico with little red rose florettes. There was a little ribbon around the bodice and around the hem of the dress as accents. She smiled at how nicely it had turned out. She wore nice white, closed toe sandals, and pulled her hair into a half ponytail with a piece of matching red ribbon.

"Beautiful," she heard her mother's voice behind her, "I have to get a picture." Marinette obliged as she let her mother drag her down into the living room. "Stand right there." Marinette felt odd standing there all by herself so she had her dad come into the picture, too.

"Come on, dad, I can't take a picture by myself."

As Tom was approaching his daughter they heard the bakery door ring. Sabine sighed, "I'll be right back. Stay."

She hurried down the stairs. Tom looked to Marinette, "You really do make this papa proud, mon petite chou."

"Thank you, papa," she smiled.

That's when they heard Sabine coming back up, but there was chattering behind her, "Your friends stopped by on their way."

Alya and Nino followed her mom up the stairs and Marinette smiled, "The party isn't until AFTER graduation, silly!"

Alya smirked, "We know. We just thought it would be nice to see each other before we were all officially graduated."

"Dude, our lives are going to change so much," Nino muttered. It looked like he was having a rough time coming to terms with it now that it was here and final. He'd been giddy with excitement for the longest time.

"I need to get a picture," Sabine perked up, interrupting their sober moment.

As they were gathering together the bell downstairs rang again. Sabine sighed, "I'll be RIGHT back, I promise. Don't move."

Sabine disappeared for a second and came running right back up.

"That was fast," Alya's eyebrows rose in surprise. Then they saw Adrien's head come popping up the stairs behind Sabine. He looked flushed and out of breath.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in!" Nino grinned at him. Adrien smirked at the idiom; cat. If he only knew.

"Sorry, I'm late. I didn't know you all were taking a picture."

"Late for what?" Marinette asked, confused.

"We were all meeting here before going to graduation," Alya said, "Didn't your mom tell you?"

Sabine cleared her throat nervously, "I know you don't like taking pictures alone."

Marinette glared at her mother, but there was no feeling behind it, "You're sneaky, maman. You sneaky, sneaky woman."

"Okay, kids," Tom had stepped to the side wand was squishing them together, "You're going to have to act like you like each other to get in the frame." He quickly observed how they were standing. Marinette stuck in the middle between Nino and Adrien. Tom shook his head at that and took Marinette to the other side of Adrien. They were all still pretty wide. Finally, Tom put Nino's arm around Alya and Adrien's arm around Marinette. All four of them blushed and Tom was pleased with himself. Sabine snapped one of the photos before the embarrassed looks could disappear and then told them to smile.

"For real this time," Sabine said, "I'll count. 3...2...1...*click.* Do we need another one?" She looked at Tom and they debated whether or not they needed one. Adrien peeked down at Marinette and she glanced back up at him. Sabine quickly shot another photograph and Marinette giggled as she looked away quickly. Her mother was so sneaky. Adrien tucked his tongue into his cheek and tried not to laugh. He liked Sabine already. How in the world was Marinette related to such a brave, brazen woman?

The teens finally pulled apart and made their way to the school for their ceremony. On the way, Marinette noted the Agreste limo that Adrien's father had probably arrived in. Actually, Adrien probably arrived in it, too. That's why he was out of breath when he got there moments after Nino and Alya. Marinette grinned to herself at that.

"Is your father going to come to the party afterwards?" Alya asked Adrien, curious.

"I don't think so," Adrien frowned, "I don't even know if he'll allow me to. I tried to get Natalie to talk him into letting me stay for a little while."

"And...?" Nino waited.

"I think I might get to stop by for a few minutes after," he smiled, "Better than nothing, right?" They all nodded in agreement.

* * *

Graduation was a simple, formal event. Alya's family was dealing with screaming children and opted to go home instead of stopping by the bakery for the after party. Nino's dad was going to stop by for a while. Alix, Rose, Juleka, Myelen, Ivan, and Kim all stopped by for a little while. Even Adrien was able to stop by for a bit.

Outside, in the limousine, Gabriel Agreste worked on his tablet; always working. Marinette noticed he hadn't come in and took it upon herself to be especially brave; even though her decision was rash.

Gabriel jumped slightly at the knock on his window. A girl he recognized as one of his son's friend was standing there. He rolled down the window to see what she needed. He didn't want to be rude, after all. "Yes? How may I assist you?" he asked.

Marinette blushed, "Adrien said these were your favorite."

She held out a sachet filled with cinnamon yeast rounds. Gabriel glanced down at them, his expression unchanging, but then Marinette could see his eyes twinkled just slightly. This man needed a little love, too, she noticed.

"For me?"

"I baked them especially for you," she bowed, "Have a wonderful evening, Mr. Agreste."

Gabriel received the sachet and nodded, his stony expression shaken. "Thank you...?"

"Marinette," she grinned, "You are very welcome."

Gabriel rolled his window up. Marinette turned and walked back into the bakery, oblivious to the man whose eyes followed her the entire way, struck speechless by her generosity. Then Gabriel glanced back down at the little sachet. He noticed it wasn't just a cheap, mass produced pocket. No, this was a handmade, white drawstring pouch with little hand embroidered gardenias. The white on white design was very tasteful. There was a little lilac color accent in the strings and the stitching at the top. Inside, there was a lilac colored lining. It was personalized just for him; gardenias being his favorite flower. Adrien must have told her. He smiled to himself wistfully; he felt in that moment he had underestimated his son.

Natalie was watching in the rear view mirror as she saw her employer, Mr. Gabriel Agreste, smile. She'd never been so thankful for that sound barrier between the front and back of the limousine or he'd have heard her, quite audible, gasp of surprise. This was the first time she'd seen a genuine smile grace his features since his wife had left. Natalie took a look at Marinette Dupain-Cheng and smiled to herself. She knew then and there she was special. She just had no idea how accurate that feeling was.

Gabriel Agreste let Adrien stay twice as long as he'd initially told him he could; all the while, he sat in the back seat and thoroughly enjoyed the exquisitely baked cinnamon yeast cookies. They were his favorite and these ones were some of the best ones he'd ever had. They reminded him of his childhood. Nostalgia was something Gabriel tried to avoid, but once in a while he'd let himself indulge. This was the first time he'd allowed it in the company of others. It couldn't be helped as the gesture was rather overwhelming. For once, however, he couldn't bring himself to mind.

Adrien was escorted to the limousine. He looked disappointed to have to leave when he climbed in the back seat with his father.

"Your friend is talented," Gabriel muttered to his son. Adrien jerked to look at his father. He'd just spoken to him...conversationally.

"Sir?"

"Marinette," he nodded, "It was the only name she gave me."

"Dupain-Cheng is her last name," he nodded, "She is talented. She won your derby hat competition a couple years ago."

Gabriel's eyes widened at that. She had seemed familiar. He looked back out his window again to see if he could catch a glimpse of the girl though the windows of the bakery, to attempt another look. She was the same girl? Multi-talented, he noted to himself. "Ah, yes, quite the talented baker, as well."

"Yes, father," Adrien nodded.

"Any chance she could be...?"

Adrien's eyes widened. Was his father...hopeful? Adrien shook his head, "No, sir."

Gabriel notably deflated before he sighed and muttered, "Shame." It was meant to be inaudible, but Adrien heard it. He looked out his window and wondered about his father and his unexpected mood change. Sure, it wasn't likely to last, but Adrien thought it a welcomed change of pace even if for a moment.


	17. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug discovers Chat lurking outside of her window and decides to see what he's up to. She never could have predicted that they'd have to purify over a dozen akumas and capture Hawk Moth all over the course of their first official outing together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pure fluff.
> 
> Lots of fluff.
> 
> Fluff without plot. (F w/o P--FWOP! That's the sound of the fluff whopping you upside the head!)
> 
> So much fluff it might be embarrassing for other fluff to acknowledge its fluffiness.
> 
> I'm not ashamed.

Adrien was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He was bored. It was a Saturday, the first day of summer vacation, and he had _nothing_ to do. His father had a last minute trip to Milan, taking Natalie and the Gorilla with him, so Adrien was essentially homebound. The only person there was Chef Dubois so he could eat. Otherwise, Adrien was left to his own devices.

Nino and Alya had gone with his cousins on a trip to Spain for a week. Adrien couldn't get approval to go. Their friend Marinette was still around, but only because her parents were going to be out of town for a couple of those days and they needed her to be there to take potential orders. He didn't really have any other friends except, maybe, Chloe...if he considered her a friend. He cringed at the thought of hanging out with Chloe. Nope.

Plagg stared over at his chosen with a smug look on his face, "Welcome to my world."

Adrien sighed, "What do you do, Plagg?"

Plagg sighed and yawned, "Sleep."

"No," Adrien shook his head, "I'm not sleeping my days away. Plagg, claws out."

The tiny cat's eyes widened as he was sucked into his wearer's ring. Chat jumped out of his window and made his way across the city. He found the park by his school and watched all the kids playing on the playground below. They were so carefree and happy. He wanted to be like that.

Marinette had been sitting in her room, absentmindedly staring out her window, while leaning over her open diary with her pencil poised to write. She'd had so much going through her mind these days that she couldn't write it all down and do it any justice. Her mind raced and her heart pumped any time she thought about school or boys. Speaking of boys-out of the corner of her eye, in the park across the street, she saw a certain black clad boy go bounding over.

"What's going on?" she asked Tikki, "Chat Noir is in the park."

Tikki frowned, "I don't know."

"Let's go find out," Marinette's eyes sparkled; any excuse to do something to take her mind off of the constant churning of her mindful thoughts, "Tikki, spots on."

Chat heard movement to his left, and his jaw dropped as he saw Ladybug come bounding over. He quickly replaced it with a smile, "I must be dreaming or else my dreams are coming true."

Ladybug rolled her eyes, "What are you up to, Chat?"

"Thought an impromptu patrol couldn't hurt," he shrugged, "Plus, I've always wondered what it would be like to make their day." He gestured with his head towards the children playing on the big playground.

Ladybug felt her heart melt when she realized he was such a selfless kid at heart; he wanted to go and make all those little kids' day without any recognition. He just wanted to because that's who he was. He was always going out of his way to make other people happy and that was one of his most attractive qualities; and yet, Ladybug couldn't help, but chastise herself for not giving him credit for it as often as she should. Her frown was internal only. On her face, she wore a cheerful grin and nodded.

"Let's go!" she reached out and grabbed his hand, bounding towards the playground.

The kids saw them coming out and began to scream ecstatically.

"IT'S LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR!" they shrieked with excitement. A couple of them quite literally buzzing or shaking because they couldn't control their emotions.

"NO WAY!" a little girl shrieked.

"We were just playing like we were you!" a little boy ran up to tap Chat's hip, "Just like you!"

Ladybug and Chat exchanged excited glances.

"And who is Hawk Moth?" Chat asked. A little boy with freckles, glasses, and red curly hair, sitting atop the jungle gym, gulped. Chat pointed at him and smirked, "Gotcha!"

The boy's eyes widened as he swung down and ran for the tower of the play structure.

"You'll never get me, Chat Noir!" he shouted with a maniacal giggle. "Not with all my akumas! Akumas, get their miraculouses!"

The little kids began to chase Chat Noir and Ladybug. Ladybug used her yo-yo to swing up to the top of the jungle gym, quickly followed by Chat Noir. He stood there, holding her hand, as about half a dozen kids climbed the sides to get to them.

"It looks like we're outnumbered, My Lady," he exclaimed dramatically.

Ladybug winked at him and Chat felt his insides turn squishy at the sight of her playing her part. "Chat Noir, we have to get to Hawk Moth's lair before he can release any more akumas."

Chat nodded and wrapped his arm around her waist, whisking her off towards the play structure. She took the south side while he swung around to the west side. Ladybug crossed the swinging bridge while Chat slid on the rail hang towards the ladder.

"We won't make it in time," she exclaimed with mock dispair as children were blocking her way. She used her yo-yo and swung up to the climbing poles above her head, "We have to defeat the akumas."

Chat's eyes glinted as he jumped down in front of a little girl. He grabbed her imaginary necklace and performed a pretend cataclysm. Ladybug swung down and pretended to capture her akuma.

"What happened?" the girl giggled, pretending to be completely oblivious.

They went around to all the little kids until every akuma had been cleansed. Finally, Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a knowing glance and headed back towards the tower. Chat dove into the upper most tower and reappeared with a squirming, screaming kid, "I've captured Hawk Moth," he said as he brought him to Ladybug.

She removed his pretend miraculous and said, "You won't be harming anyone else any more, Hawk Moth."

After they were done Chat and Ladybug looked at each other. This had been the most fun they'd had in years; definitely the most fun they'd ever had together. A little blonde girl pulled them out of their reverie as she yanked on both of their hands.

"Yes, munchkin?" Chat asked as he and Ladybug both knelt down to get on the little girl's level.

"Are you two in love?"

Chat and Ladybug both gasped and their eyes snapped back to each other. Ladybug saw the cheshire grin on Chat's face and rolled her eyes, but the blush was unmistakable.

"Why would you ask that?" Chat was curious.

Her hands clapped together, "Because that's how my mommy and daddy look at each other and they're in love."

Chat cleared his throat nervously and glanced over at Ladybug. Ladybug was looking at the little girl with a quizzical, yet determined, look on her face. She was clearly avoiding Chat's gaze when she said, "You are a very observant little girl. What do you think?"

"YES!" she squealed, "You're in love, you're in love, you're in love, you're in love. I knew it!"

Ladybug giggled, but her face flushed a deep red. She brought her eyes back up to Chat and he was gazing at her in both admiration and adoration. He was oozing happiness.

"I love Ladybug," he smiled, reaching out to grab her hand. She didn't flinch away.

He squeezed her hand encouragingly and she smiled at him. She couldn't bring herself to say it, and he didn't seem to mind. Chat was just happy that she let him say it to her and hold her hand. He knew it might be a while until she came around to feel the same way, but he'd wait forever if he had to. Today had given him hope that they were meant to be together forever and always.

"You should get married!" another little girl perked up. She had her hair in multiple floofy pigtails all over her head. Her chestnut lips curved into a huge grin.

Chat looked over at Ladybug and quirked an eyebrow. Then he looked down at the little girl, "One of these days, perhaps."

The little kids squealed and ran off to play. The heroes jumped off towards the roof of a neighboring building, coincidentally the bakery, and sighed.  
"That was a lot of fun. Thank you for coming out and playing with me," Chat nudged Ladybug with his shoulder. Their hands were still clinched together.  
"I really liked that," she smiled, "It was a wonderful idea."

Chat threw caution to the wind and smiled at Ladybug, "I have another wonderful idea. How about we make this a thing? Let me take you on a date once in a while?"

Ladybug nodded, "If there are more like this one then I'm game."

He smiled to himself. This was a date? "Yes! Definitely."


	18. Wedding

Marinette was sleeping in on her first day as a graduate. A happy sigh escaped her lips, "I'm done!"

She slipped into a comfortable pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. Today, her parents had given her the day off. Alya and Nino wouldn't be back for a week so it looked like some peace and quiet. Although, strangely, she didn't want peace and quiet. It was a week day and she should be at school. She felt lost all of a sudden. Marinette made her way downstairs to talk to her mom. She'd have plenty to talk about, right?

"I can't chat right now, Marinette, we're horribly busy. I'm sure you have some friends you can hang out with," her mom huffed exasperatedly, "I'm sorry. It is your day off! Do something fun."

Marinette frowned. Her mom knew all of her close friends and she knew that half of them were on their way to Spain. Pulling out her phone, she saw Adrien's number. Her finger fidgeted over the call button, but she chickened out. She had such trouble talking to him on a regular day. What made her think today would be any different? Although, lately it had been getting easier. The stutter was almost gone entirely. She wasn't so sure her giving up on ever being with Adrien hadn't contributed to that, as well.

Adrien was lying on his bed in a pair of boxers and a cotton t-shirt. His hair was a mess. Natalie had made sure his day was devoid of obligation following graduation. His father was in an unusually good mood last night so Adrien just hoped it carried over into today. Sadly, he was booked solid. Adrien did want to try and catch him for lunch. With a little chuckle, he hopped up out of bed and glanced at the clock. He picked up his phone to call Nino, but frowned when he realized he'd be on a plane to Spain right about now. Alya, too. He could talk to Chloe. Adrien shivered at the thought. Nope. He wasn't THAT hard up.

He flopped back down on his bed and grumbled, "Great. Just great."

Plagg flew up in front of his nose, "Why the long face, kid?"

"For a creature that's been around humans, as long as you have, you are pretty dense."

The little cat huffed, "Fine then. Don't tell me."

"I'm here, with you, and have nothing to do," he mumbled.

"Hey, what about that cute ebony number that sits behind you?"

Adrien's eyes snapped open, "Marinette?"

"Yeah! Marinette. What is she doing today?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Probably working."

"Won't know unless you ask, though, right?"

Adrien pulled out his phone.

As she was looking down at her phone it vibrated in her hands. New message. From ADRIEN! She squeaked excitedly.

Adrien: Hey, Marinette. Are you doing anything today?

Marinette: No. My parents gave me the day off.

Adrien: Would you want to do something?

Marinette: What did you have in mind?

Adrien: Getting out of the city.

Marinette: I've always wanted to see the palace gardens.

There was a moment when she wasn't sure if he'd respond.

Adrien: That sounds great! Pick you up in twenty.

Marinette quickly jumped to get ready. Twenty minutes?! Was he nuts? She broke out in a cold sweat and began to shake. Whew! Breathe, Marinette. Breathe. It was 8:30. She had twenty minutes. She threw on a blouse and a pair of tennis shoes. The cotton shorts would have to do if she wanted to eat today. It was way too hot to wear jeans. She didn't have time to dig through her unorganized closet and drawers. Plus, these athletic shorts would help if they went hiking or something.

She ran to the bathroom, grabbed her lip gloss, threw on a layer of 15 SPF foundation, and pulled her hair into pigtails. It was all in a rush just to get down the stairs to grab something to eat. Her day had effectively gone from 0 to 60 in no time.

Adrien quickly shucked his clothes in favor of a new set. Everything was laid out nicely in his drawers by their maid. She arranged everything in a very organized manner to make everything easy to find. With a quick shake of his head, a spot of gel, and a hair brush, Adrien was ready to go.

"Gorilla!" he shouted, "I need a ride. Dupain-Cheng Bakery, please."

The man sat at the front of the house as Adrien's bodyguard when he wasn't carting him around. With a grunt he followed Adrien out to the car and they were off to the bakery.

Adrien sent Marinette a text.

Adrien: We're here!

The time read 8:43. He was a couple minutes late, but real close.

Marinette: Coming!

The front door to the bakery opened and out hopped Marinette. She had a bag thrown over her shoulders, the same she'd had the other day, and it had a bottle of sunscreen and a hat. Her mother was such a caring woman to look after her daughter like that.

They arrived at the palace and noticed there were quite a few people in the gardens. They decided to check out a maze the gardening staff had been working on for the past few years. Historically, Versailles was known for it's labyrinth; a hedge maze made to befuddle the guests.

"A maze?" Marinette wondered as they approached the entrance, "What if I get lost?"

"Send up red sparks!" he chuckled.

"Nerd," she smirked.

"HA!" he shouted, "NERD! You got the reference! Marinette Dupain-Cheng, maiden of mystery. Intriguing."

She blushed and pushed him towards the entrance, "Come on. Let's solve this maze."

He moved quickly, his eyes shining with mirth, as he dashed away from her shouting behind him, "Gotta catch me first!" He giggled maniacally as he disappeared around a corner.

Marinette smirked, "You're making too much noise. You can't giggle and hide, Adrien."

"Watch me," he called from somewhere behind her.

"Crap he's fast," she whispered to herself. She chased after him as quickly as she could. There was a loud 'thump' followed by an 'ow' just on the other side of the bush. She could hear it was him there. Marinette stuck her hand through the hedge and grabbed his shirt, "Gotcha!"

"Doesn't count, Mari," he wriggled free and dashed off.

"Fine. I'll still find you. AND BE CAREFUL!" she called so he could hear her, wherever he was.

Marinette decided to be sneaky and developed a strategic plan in that moment. She was going to beat him to the center and wait. Marinette was good at puzzles. The hedge was easily 7 feet tall, so she couldn't just jump to look over. Her first instinct was to peek through hedges and try to get a glimpse of where she was. She knew the direction the center was; North. Her feet carried her that direction any time it was available.

As she was approaching what she thought was center she heard something just to her left. Just around a corner there stood Adrien. He stood facing away from her. He'd paused like he was listening for something, or thinking about where he was going to go. Marinette took this as her opportunity and barreled after him before he could run away. She wrapped her arms around his middle and tackled him to the ground.

"Caught. You," she grinned, out of breath, "I win." He flipped over under her and her breath caught.

"Dang!" he spluttered, gasping for air, "Bravo."

She'd been caught up in the chase that she'd almost completely forgotten who she was playing it with. Her adrenaline had been driving her, and her competitive nature blinded her, into tackling this boy she could barely speak to. Marinette's face felt hot as she jumped off of him.

"Sorry," she held a hand out to help him up.

"No need to apologize. I deserved it," he chuckled, "Nice tackle, though. You're pretty strong and fast!"

She smirked, "I've got a bit of practice."

"Yeah?" he looked intrigued, "Me, too. Although, I'm usually the one chasing."

Marinette giggled, "Me, too."

"It's much more intimidating being the prey," he scratched his head, "I'm just so used to being the predator I didn't realize how nerve wracking it was to be chased." He got a glint in his eye and smiled, "Your turn!"

"OH CRAP!" she screamed dodging him as he lunged towards her. At first she thought she should have just let him catch her, but where was the fun in that? Marinette was off. She was so close to the center. Although, now she knew Adrien was chasing her. "Shoot, shoot, shoot! Where is he?" He was silent now. This time he was the one doing the chasing and that terrified her. She knew exactly what he meant-it was intimidating.

There was a scuffle just on the other side of the hedge and her breath caught. All of a sudden, her senses were on alert. There was heavy breathing and she could hear him moving again.

Marinette ran as fast as her feet could quietly take her, diving through the breaks as she found them. Finally, she looked ahead and saw the end. It was a good straight shot. She broke into a flat run towards it; the approach silent. Success was almost assured until-there he was.

Adrien came flying out of his corridor and saw Marinette running right at him. He set his feet and prepared to catch.

"Not today, buddy," Marinette whispered as she ran right at him. Adrien's eyes widened and he looked a bit panicked. He hadn't expected her to charge him so boldly, fearless. He thought it was pretty hot, actually, though he'd keep that to himself.

She was within ten feet of him when she LEAPT OVER HIS HEAD! Adrien did NOT see that coming. She placed both hands on the top of his head as she spread her legs and leap frogged right over the top of him. "HOLY SHI-IT, MARINETTE," he exclaimed, flabbergasted. Although, now it was on. He turned and chased after her.

Marinette squealed excitedly as she sprinted as fast as she could. Sadly for Marinette, he was faster. A moment later Adrien had caught up and put both his arms around her waist. Instead of falling, Adrien just picked her up and spun her around, "I AM VICTORIOUS!"

"Not fair. You're a boy. Boys are faster than girls," she pouted and crossed her arms.

He put her down and pointed at her incredulously, gasping, "YOU. YOU are FAST, Marinette! I am fast, and I barely caught you...and that JUMP! Where the HELL did that jump come from?"

Marinette blushed, "That's for me to know."

"And for me to find out?" he smirked. Marinette's heart jumped into her throat and she rolled her eyes. He reminded her so much of her kitty just then. She'd never really been on the receiving end of Adrien's blatant flirting before, and right now she didn't think she could look at him and still maintain any kind of composure.

"No," she said while looking away from him. "A girl has to have her secrets."

"Secrets?" he smiled, "I have secrets."

"Then let's respect each other's secrets then, shall we?"

He nodded, "Yes. That sounds reasonable."

Then they spent a better part of the next hour exploring the central garden. It was a rose garden.

"I love roses," Marinette smiled, "They're my favorite."

"They were my mom's favorite," Adrien smiled, "She'd have loved this."

At about eleven they decided to call it a day. Marinette was getting hungry and Adrien wanted to try to catch lunch with his father. Plagg was busy stabbing him through his shirt because he'd yet to have his camembert for the day.

He dropped her back off at the bakery by noon and they said their goodbyes.

"I had a lot of fun today."

"We should do it again sometime," he suggested. He shifted his weight nervously.

"Sure! Maybe next time we can go rock climbing or something," she grinned. They'd discussed their propensity for outdoor sports, especially climbing, earlier in the day.

"Absolutely!" he exclaimed excitedly, "Man, we should have talked more. Just think-for two years I could have had a climbing partner."

Marinette blushed, "I didn't know you liked to climb."

"I LOVE to climb," he nodded.

"Then let's do it. Tomorrow?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I'm free from four to seven in the evening. Chef is a stickler when it comes to supper so I have to be back by 7:30."

"Okay! See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Marinette."

"Bye, Adrien."

Adrien arrived back to his house by 12:30 and made his way to Natalie.

"Is my dad free for lunch today?"

She smiled happily, "Actually, yes. Today he is free."

Adrien made his way into his father's office and overheard Natalie order up another service.

"Adrien," his father nodded, "And what do I owe this pleasure?"

Adrien bowed his head, "It has been a while."

Gabriel bowed his head in response. They were respectful when it came to sitting at a formal meal together.

"I'm to be married soon father," Adrien started.

"Ah, yes," Gabriel nodded and wiped his lips with his napkin, "I wondered when this happy occasion may be."

"I do not know, father. It will be soon. We haven't settled on a date."

Gabriel nodded in understanding. "You do realize I'm going to want to meet your mystery fiance one of these days."

Adrien gulped, "Meet?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Of course. I will need to meet the girl who will support you through carrying on my legacy. I do expect heirs, Adrien." His father wore a stern expression that made Adrien begin to shake nervously.

"Uh, y-yes, sir. I will see what I can do."

"Is she a busy girl?"

"Yes," Adrien blurted. He didn't really know if she was busy or not. He was just buying time at this point. His father wanted to meet his fiance? HE hadn't even really met his fiance. Of all the times for his father to show an interest in his life, after showing very little interest before, why all of a sudden a desire to get involved? He really did have the worst luck. He took a swig of water to calm himself.

His father grinned, pleased. Adrien about choked. Gabriel wasn't much for smiling. Adrien thought who are you and what have you done with my dad?

"I like a girl with a good work ethic. Now I must meet her," he nodded.

The rest of the lunch passed by in relative peace besides Adrien having a miniature panic attack.

It was 4:00 in the afternoon when Marinette and Adrien received texts. They'd just gotten back to their rooms after a wonderful day strolling through the parks at the palace in Versailles.

Fu: I have received your marriage certificate. When would you like to have this ceremony?

Marinette: As soon as possible.

Here we go.

Adrien: ASAP.

This is it!

Fu: I will see what I can arrange.

It was a half an hour before they received additional texts from Fu to catch them up.

Fu: Meet at the Aerodot building on the Port de la Conference near the Pont de l'Alma on the north side.

It was a warehouse used to store Gabriel brand materials. Adrien had told Fu that it would be available to them as long as they went after 5:00 on week days. There shouldn't be anyone there at that time.

Marinette transformed into Ladybug, knowing Chat would be doing the same, and swung over to the Arc de Triumph.

"He got it!" he gushed walking over to her, hopping with excitement.

Ladybug nodded, "I saw. Are you nervous?"

"No," he answered, shaking his head, "I'm not." And honestly, he wasn't. "Are you?"

She nodded, "A little."

"I'll be there with you," he smiled and reached out to hold her hand and squeezed it. She still wasn't used to the electrical pulse that surged through her at his touch. He so rarely touched her that she longed for it when he let go.

"I'm ready," she nodded.

"We have a photographer," he smiled, "Someone I trust."

"Who is it?" Ladybug asked, curious.

"One of our witnesses," he smiled. "An older man who lives next door to Mr. Fu. They play mahjong together."

"What are we doing after, Chat?" She bit her lip nervously.

"What do you have in mind, Ladybug?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and grinned.

"Not that!" she pushed his chest, "But a night together would be kind of nice." Although, truth be told, she had been thinking about how much she enjoyed their close proximity these days. She was already feeling a bit addicted to her kitty's touch and she looked forward to an opportunity to investigate just how much.

"I can arrange that," he smiled. His dad had an apartment they used for visiting models that sat vacant most of the year. He could take her there. Now his nerves decided to make an appearance. Ladybug in his father's apartment. It was suddenly surreal.

They went on a short patrol to calm any nerves they might have and to expend some energy. As long as they didn't use their special abilities they could stay transformed until their kwami protested out of hunger. Plagg had roughly six hours. Tikki had about eight.

That's when they received another text.

Fu: At your earliest convenience. Heading to the designated meeting place to set up.

"Shall we?" Chat held out his hand for her to take again.

"I'd be honored," she smiled at him.

They made their way to an unassuming location. It was a large warehouse overlooking the Seine. Fu was waiting there with two elderly gentlemen, who were playing mahjong, and they smiled kindly.

Fu greeted them as they arrived, "Well, that was perfect timing. We have just set up."

Ladybug and Chat looked around. There were two little pots of tulips sitting on either side of Fu, who sat on a pillow. There was a large polished stone between the two of them. There were two pillows, one on either side of him, where they would sit. He gestured for them to sit.

"We are gathered here to the marriage of..." he leaned over and covered her ears, moving his hands to make noise, "Adrien Agreste." He then did the same for Adrien, "And Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He'd said it lightly enough they couldn't hear; not even Chat's enhanced hearing. They heard the sound of his hands rubbing over their ears.

Ladybug and Chat stared at each other with big smiles on their faces. It was now or never. They knew this was a much bigger step than they'd actually given consideration to. They both knew that if they had sat down and contemplated the significance of this decision, they would still reach the same conclusion, but it would be much more emotionally stressful for them both. Their hastiness had not only saved them undue stress but it also bought precious time for them to spend together just jumping in feet first...like this.

Chat and Ladybug removed their gloves. Fu instructed them to reach out and touch the red stone.

"This is my gift to you both. This rhodachrosite stone represents unconditional love and compassion. It is on a stand made of rose quarts to reinforce that love. Through your selfless acts towards one another no one can deny the love you two obviously have for each other." The teens giggled and blushed, shyly looking away, even though it was their wedding day. They understood, but still felt giddy with excitement over this crazy big leap they were taking together. "I hope it will imbue you with this unconditional, selfless love for eternity. It is my gift to you; a wedding gift."

The two looked at Fu and bowed their head as a sign of respect. He returned the bow. "And now for the rings," he continued.

Ladybug took a ring Fu handed her and slipped it over Chat's finger. Fu began to speak, "Do you take him to be your wedded husband, to honor and cherish, for richer or poorer, through sickness and in health, with all your heart?"

"I do," she smiled, "I pledge my devotion to you and only you."

A tear slipped past Chat's mask as he grinned happily at her. Fu gave him a ring to slip over Ladybug's finger. "Do you take her to be your wedded wife, to honor and cherish, for richer or poorer, through sickness and in health, with all your heart?"

"I do," he nodded. "There is only one woman in all the world for me, and that's you. Our souls are intertwined, you and I, and I pledge my devotion to you and only you." A tear slipped down Ladybug's cheek to match his as they reached up to clasp each other's hands. This was the most intimate they'd been to date. Sure, it was just holding hands, but it was purposeful, looking deeply into each other's eyes, and connecting with the other. Their gazes looking through that window; aware that they were revealing themselves behind the masks even if they didn't know each other's names. This was real. Chat rubbed her bare hands with his realizing that this was the first time he'd felt her skin under his fingertips as a tingle went up his spine.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," Fu announced, gesturing between the two, "You may kiss the bride."

Ladybug and Chat stared at each other for a minute. They'd had one amazing kiss, aside from the Dark Cupid incident, which Chat didn't even remember, so this was a big deal for both of them.

Chat let his eyes close as he leaned forward, slowly, hoping she'd meet him in the middle. Ladybug leaned forward and gently captured his lips with hers. It was soft and it was sweet. She'd thought it would be short and chaste, but quickly realized just how much she wanted to kiss him. Chat just about fell over, putting both his hands on the ground. Ladybug reached forward and ran her fingers through his hair. The kiss was one of passion and excitement. He hummed happily at her enthusiasm. All of their repressed feelings were expressed physically in that kiss. As they pulled away they were completely breathless.

"Fin." Fu declared, amused, "May I present, Mr. and Mrs..." He turned to them and said, "Earmuffs, young lady." She huffed at him. It wasn't fair that Chat could hear. Chat understood and covered his ears, too, and captured her eyes; his eyes were dancing. "Agreste."

Chat and Ladybug both had a dazed look on their faces. They sat there for a minute to talk while Fu took the document to his witnesses to be signed.

"That kiss," Chat smiled, "Wow."

She smiled, "I know, right?"

He picked up her hand and kissed her bare skin with his lips, "I want to kiss more of you." His voice sounded hopeful, but he was clearly pouting.

She blushed and smiled, "Me, too."

"Oooh?" his eyes widened, "That can be arranged."

"Down kitty," she laughed. Ladybug sighed contentedly, "So how does it feel to be a husband?"

His swagger was sucked right out of him instantly, "I'm a husband." Blink, blink. "I have a wife." Blink, blink. He shook his head suddenly trying to clear the haze, "You're my wife." He gazed at her in amazement as if the world revolved around them both, right there, in that moment. Nothing else mattered. "You're my wife," he repeated in a reverent whisper before clasping a hand over his mouth as more tears dripped down his cheeks.

She knew from previous experience how unemotional Chat was, or tried to be, so this was unusual-his world had been rocked. Ladybug scooted closer to him. "You're going to make me cry, kitty." He chuckled and kiss the top of her head. She slid her arm under neath of his and snuggled up under his chin. "You're my husband," she whispered, trying out the name for herself. Tears began to drip down her cheeks now, too. There was nothing more perfect for them than to acknowledge, and appreciate, the other and their importance in each other's lives. "I love you, mon minou," she whispered with realization.

He wrapped both his arms around her tightly, "I love you, lovebug." His tears flowed into her raven locks, but he smiled. He swore his heart felt like it would burst.

Fu was done with the document, but smiled to himself as he watched the newly wedded couple bond. He knew they'd have a soul binding moment, but didn't know when. They were made for each other so it took no time at all.

"I have your document," he smiled, "It is complete with both of your information so be very careful should you want to remain anonymous. Here is another copy for you, Mrs Noir."

Ladybug smiled, "I like the sound of that."

"Me, too," Chat nodded.

They posed to take a few pictures for their photographer. He was an elderly gentleman and friend of Master Fu. Apparently, back in the day he was a rather famous photographer with work still featured in museums. Their photos were in front of a large open window overlooking the Seine at sunset. In the distance there were high tendrils of clouds in pinks, purples, and blues. Then lower there were puffier cumulus clouds; big, puffy, white, orange, and yellow clouds with dark outlines. It was like a sunset out of a movie, or a painting, with the brilliant yellow sun fading into a bright strawberry-red shade on the horizon. Their silhouettes were the final pictures they took into the sunset. The silhouettes looked just like they would without the masks. Those were their favorites.

"These are perfect," she gushed over the previews in the gentleman's camera, "I want this one to sit on our mantle someday."

"I love it," Chat agreed, "That is my favorite, too."

"Could we have these?" Marinette asked gesturing to the tulips; yellow and pale pink.

"Please!" Fu bowed, "Do take them home and plant them in your garden. They will bloom every spring and hopefully remind you of this young love every year; to serve as a memorial of your wedding."

"Aww," Chat smiled and his eyes got misty, "That's a marvelous idea."

"I love flowers," Ladybug picked them up and held them gently, "I'll keep them forever."


	19. The Immediate Ever-After

Ladybug and Chat decided to go back to the Eiffel tower where they'd been engaged to over look their city. This was their home. It was where they'd met and where they'd married. They stood next to each other a little nervous still. It was all new and strange. Even though they'd broken the ice, as far as affection and declaration of love was concerned, it didn't just fix everything. They were still essentially strangers to each other. Although, now they both felt like they might be able to make it work.

"I'm still in shock," Ladybug admitted looking down at the little silver wedding band on her hand.

"You and me both," he chuckled, "So do you want to start practicing for little kittle-bugs?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes and pressed a hand to his chest, "Slow down there, kitty. Although, kittle-bugs do sound pretty cute."

He smirked, "They would be. I mean, look at us-how could they not?"

Ladybug giggled at that, "Their parents could actually be quite hideous under these masks."

"Speak for yourself, bugaboo, because I am quite handsome, or so I'm told," he waggled his eyebrows at her and chuckled. "They'd have killer bods no matter what."

"Agreed," she nodded, "And I'm not awful looking."

Chat grabbed her hand and kissed it, "You are gorgeous, my lady."

"Well, I sent a text to my parents to let them know I won't be home tonight. I don't think they cared...at all." She frowned, "I'd have expected a little resistance or questions or something." She shrugged, "I did graduate yesterday."

"ME, TOO! Congratulations!"

"Like-wise. I guess we're growing up, huh?"

"Shall we?" he offered her his arm.

She nervously reached out and grasped his arm. He helped her to stand and they swung across the city to a little brownstone apartment building near the Seine.

"This is pretty," she smiled glancing at the neighborhood, "And swanky."

"It belongs to someone I know," he smiled, "It is vacant for now."

"I see," she nodded.

When they swung up to the top floor a window was already cracked.

Ladybug chuckled, "It looks almost as if someone prepared in advance for someone to sneak in this window."

When they stepped inside, they were in a master bedroom. It was decorated in spring greens, white, and aqua. There was a large duvet with a brown trim around the perimeter with a floral design in the middle. Chat turned on the light and showed the room off.

"This is the master," he smiled, "The bathroom is over here." She followed him to see a large whirlpool tub, a standing shower, and a double sink. There was a second bedroom; this one was much darker with a fall color palette. There were two single beds and a night stand between with a porcelain lamp. Both of the bedrooms opened out into the living and dining area. Around the corner past the dining nook was a kitchen that had a view into both the dining room and the living room via a large L shaped bar. Off the dining room, opposite the kitchen, and just past the second bedroom, was a deck with a set of french doors. Just inside the front door, which opened to the living room, was a coat closet and a small half bath with a standup shower, toilet, and sink.

"This is gorgeous!" she exclaimed running from room to room, "It looks like it is from a magazine."

Chat was about to tell her it had been featured in a magazine, but refrained. That would have been revealing too much information. Instead, he just smiled, "I'm glad you like it. It's ours for the night!"

"Which room would you prefer?" she asked.

"Hmmm...either. I'm feline like ladies choice," he bowed.

"I just need to detransform to feed my kwami." She bit her lip and shuffled her feet nervously.

He grabbed his chest, "Does that affect you like it does me?"

"What?" her eyes flashed up to his curiously.

"Knowing that I could be sitting in my room, unmasked, and you just on the other of the wall, but still not knowing who I am."

She smiled and nodded vigorously, "Yes."

"Then why...?"

"Oh, Chat, don't ruin this day."

He huffed in surrender, "All right, my love. What do you want to do after you feed your kwami?"

"Watch a movie?"

"Then?"

"I don't know. Play it by ear?"

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Chat bustled over to the fridge that he'd stocked earlier when Ladybug had gone home to grab a change of clothes before meeting at the Eiffel. There was a bottle of wine, a roll of camembert, and a take-and-bake pizza. Then on the counter he had a package of cookies, per her request.

* * *

They snuck off to their respective rooms to detransform and feed their kwamis.

"You're all doe eyed. It's so sappy, you're making me sick," Plagg gagged.

"Shut up. That's the girl of my dreams in there."

"How do you know? She could be hideous. She said so herself."

"No," he shook his head, "She's be beautiful regardless of how she looks."

"Such a sap," Plagg grumbled.

"Eat your cheese. You're keeping me away from my bride."

"No funny business now, A...kid." He'd started to call him Adrien when he got a glare. She could potentially hear them.

* * *

Marinette held Tikki in her palm and offered her the cookies Chat had given her.

"He's a keeper, Marinette," Tikki hummed, "You are so lucky."

"I know," she smiled, "You say that as if I might consider annulment."

"NO!" Tikki screeched, "I just think he's perfect for you."

"You really think so, Tikki? More perfect than Adrien?" she whispered.

"I'd say just AS perfect as Adrien," Tikki smiled.

Marinette fell back on the bed and sighed. It made her extremely happy Tikki approved so highly. It made her much more curious as to who the masked cat was.

There was a knock on her door.

"Ladybug? Are you transformed?"

"Uh, no, Chat. I will. One second."

Chat saw a light flash under the door and it opened.

"Do you need something?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come eat some pizza and watch a movie or something."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"So what kind of movies do you like?" he asked. Honestly, Chat and Ladybug had never really discussed much in the way of personal preferences for fear they'd discover each other's identity. Ladybug immediately tensed out of habit. "Or...we don't have to. I just thought we could."

"No, it's fine," she nodded, "It's not like we're not going to find out eventually, right?"

"Yeah," he chuckled as his nervous tension dissipated. "True."

"I don't want to reveal, though," she held her hands up in front of her to make that clear, "I'm just saying we don't have to try as hard NOT to."

"I agree, bugaboo," he smiled as he leaned forward to bop her on the nose, "Boop."

"Boop?!" she exclaimed, "You're a booper!"

"I am a booper. I'm a cat."

"Come here, kitty," she smiled. "I'll do you one better." She leaned forward and rubbed her forehead against his, nuzzling. He let out a contented purr.

His jaw dropped and he felt humbled with adoration, "A kitty kiss!"

Ladybug hadn't expected him to be so emotional over the sign of affection, but apparently he was over the moon. He purred and gently rubbed the top of his head against hers, gently sliding his cheek against hers. Ladybug's breath hitched. She'd been the first to display physical affection in their marriage and it shocked them both.

They pulled back to look at each other and Ladybug looked away shyly. Chat just smiled.

"I knew you'd fall for me someday."

She scoffed, "You're not the only one."

"W-WHAT?!" he sputtered.

"You can't fight fate, I guess," she shrugged.

He sighed happily, stretched his arms up above his head, and clasped them behind his neck with a very smug expression on his face, "Nope, that you cannot."

"I like rom-coms," she smirked, "Dram-rom-coms, actually. I like to see conflict, but where everything turns out all right in the end and love wins. A good dose of angst and sexual tension with an underlying assurance that it is going to be okay."

He blinked at her and smiled. "Can I admit something without getting my man card revoked?"

Ladybug giggled, "Man card? I won't tell. Your secrets are safe with me, Chaton."

"Oh?"

She pointed at him, "Don't. Get. Off. Subject. And no."

He clicked his tongue and smirked, "I like rom-comes, too, and action. I like the Lethal Weapons."

"I LOVE those, too. What's your favorite holiday?"

"Hmm, that's easy...New Year's Eve."

"Really?! Why?" He looked away, "I'm not criticizing. I'm just curious."

"Hope. It is the one time out of the year that all people have as much hope as I do and I like knowing I'm sharing it with everyone; friends, family, strangers. Not that I really have many of the former," he sighed sadly, "That day we wipe the slate clean, forgive transgressions, and move on. We get to start anew every year and that is special. I feel a genuine, deep connection that day and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

Ladybug blinked a couple times. Her thoughts were flying through her head a mile a minute. She was fighting between awe and sadness. There was no doubt Chat was lonely, and often sad, but she didn't realize he was starving for connection and unfailingly optimistic. She hadn't quite known how lonely he was, but now she felt extreme guilt that she'd rejected his affections, not aware, that she might be the only one he was asking to get affection from in return on that level. It was heartbreaking, really. Then there was his optimism. He was a courageous romantic at heart; the best kind. Courage, not in his actions, but in his feelings. He was brave in the face of all his loneliness and sadness with the strength to hold onto love in the absence of it. He was cocky and childish, but that innocence only made him that much more endearing.

"What about you?"

Ladybug shook her head to clear it and her eyes of approaching tears. Her face broke into a brilliant smile, "Christmas." She was immediately aware that Christmas might be a sensitive subject for Chat by the way he stiffened a little. "I love it. Snow, bells, the colors, carols, candles, greenery, family, friends, the food, the love-it's all wonderful. I feel full of joy, like I could explode with happiness."

His eyes were twinkling now. Chat always felt a bit bitter at Christmas. When you don't have family, or many friends, none of which allowed into your house, and a father that doesn't show up, it tends to put a damper on the holiday spirit. Although, listening to Ladybug tell him about her love of Christmas made him feel like he could love it, too. She just lit up like a light bulb when she talked about it.

"What's your favorite Christmas movie?" he asked.

"Oh, wow, I couldn't pick one," she was shaking her head, "No way. Um...I personally like French dubbed American films." She frowned in embarrassment.

Chat chuckled, "I'm big into American cinema and musicals, too. Come on. What's your favorite?"

"The Family Stone and Love Actually are my two absolute favorites."

"I haven't seen either of those," his gaze glazed over and he smiled, "We should watch them now!"

"It's MAY!"

"I don't care," he stood up and turned the television on, "My fa...friend has a movie service that has almost any movie we'd want to watch on digital demand."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I'm sure I can find them. You wouldn't mind our first movie together as a married couple to be a Christmas one, would you?"

"No!" she exclaimed, "Not at all. I love Christmas movies even if it isn't Christmas. Love Actually. We have to watch Love Actually."

"Okay," he smirked and side eyed her, "Why?"

"You'll see." They sat down on the couch, eating their pizza, and Ladybug leaned to put her head on Chat's shoulder, "I absolutely adore this movie."

Chat stared down at the top of her head and his lips puffed up together in an expression that says 'Aww, that's sweet.' He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed, "I'm sure I will, too."

During the movie they both managed to laugh and cry, but Ladybug just couldn't keep herself awake towards the end of it and fell asleep lying with her head on Chat's chest. He didn't want to move. He just wanted to sit there, like this, forever. Finally, he sighed and lifted her up gently into his arms and carried her to her bed.

"Even though I don't know your name, or what you look like beneath that mask, I love you," he kissed her forehead and wiped her hair out of her face gently, "Sleep well, my love."

Then he closed the door and retreated to his own room.

Adrien was sleeping soundly with his arms crossed behind his head. He felt the mattress next to him dip. Within an instant there was a set of arms wrapped around him and a head resting gently on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled. He slid his hands down her arms and felt his skin against hers. His breath caught and he squeezed her gently.

Marinette could feel his chest catch and the shaky intake of breath. He was such a sweet kitty. "I love you, Chaton," she sighed, "So imagine my surprise when I woke up, alone, on our wedding night. We're supposed to be in this together, forever. Married or not, I'll always be here for you. This is where I belong. You aren't going to be alone anymore." She wanted this marriage to work, and last, more with each moment they spent together like this.

A tear dripped down the side of Adrien's face and he buried his face in her hair. Marinette hadn't realized how emotional this would actually be. The response was as if the dam had broke and she could feel him sob softly against her. Her hand gently rubbed his side to comfort him.

Adrien was overcome, but managed to calm the sudden flow of emotion at this overwhelming sense of relief, acceptance, and love. Something he didn't even know he needed as badly as he did right now. After a moment, he sighed and whispered, "What about school?"

"I can still go to school, kitty."

"Weren't we going to go on a date like this?" He slid his fingers gently up her bare arm and she shivered.

"We've already been on a date. Sure, it would have been fun, but it's so cliche. Everyone's seen You've Got Mail," she giggled.

"And being revealed? I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with."

She leaned up on her elbows, found his face with her hands in the dark, and kissed him softly, "I decided this was more important. I know you want to know who I am and YOU are more important than hiding. You can't build a marriage on secrets and I want to fall in love with my husband; the man behind the mask." _The parts of you I don't know and want to_.

"How did I get so lucky?" he sighed happily, pulling her down to lay next to him, "You're amazing, Ladybug."

She about corrected him, to say 'Marinette,' but decided she could tell him that in the morning. Right now it didn't matter. This, them lying there together, mattered. Feeling the weight of the most important person in her life, alongside her, on one of the most important days of her life, mattered.

* * *

Marinette and Adrien were holding each other gently when two little creatures perked on Marinette's arm across his chest.

"They really were meant for each other," Tikki sighed happily.

Plagg groaned, "You're just as bad as the lovesick kid over there. He's been adamant; a hopeless romantic. Blech."

"You know you love it," Tikki giggled as she rubbed her head against Plagg's. Plagg returned the nuzzle and sighed.

"You can't prove it."

The kwamis flew off. The 'kids' were waking up.

Adrien's stirred and hummed happily feeling the weight of her in his arms. "Are you awake?" he asked.

"No," she giggled.

"My eyes are closed...in case you've changed your mind," he nuzzled the top of her head.

Marinette smiled to herself, "No, I haven't changed my mind."

"May I see you?"

She rubbed her face against his chest, "If you want to."

"I do."

Marinette kept her eyes closed. She didn't know if she wanted to see him or not. No, that's a lie, she did. She just wasn't brave enough yet. Adrien leaned down to look at her and started with a gasp. _Marinette._

He couldn't stop the smile that broke out across his face, "Hey, look up at me."

"No," she shook her head.

He smirked, "You might want to."

"I'm not going to look at you. You can look at me, but I'm not going to look at you. There's nothing you can say to ma-"

"Marinette," he cooed gently, running a hand gently down her cheek and massaging her jaw.

Marinette gasped and her eyes snapped open at her name. She didn't look up, but felt like there was something in the way he said her name; something intimate and familiar. Her eyes closed again, "No."

"Aren't you even the least bit curious?"

"YES! I mean no. I am, I just don't...grrr."

"Please?" he pleaded.

"I can't," she whined, "I'm scared."

"Whoa, hey, it's me. There's nothing to be afraid of." He squeezed her shoulders encouragingly, "Can I give you hints?"

"Ugh..." she buried her head in his chest and groaned.

"You have to know who I am," he sighed.

"Do I know you?"

"Yes, I'm your husband." He chuckled and ran his fingers tenderly through her hair.

"NO! You know what I mean. Do I know you as yourself?"

"Yes, yes, yes." He was practically bouncing with excitement.

Marinette was confused by his answer, but very curious. She knew him. Who could she know that Tikki would think so highly of? Someone that could compare with Adrien? Her heart sped up, "D-do you still love me? The idea of me?" Because she was sure Adrien didn't. He never showed interest in anyone.

"YES!" he exclaimed, "Absolutely. More than ever."

Well, that answered her question, but she was still confused. Who the heck could he be? She sighed sadly, resigned, "I haven't any idea. Someone that knows me, apparently well, and _still_ loves me romantically? I'm drawing a blank."

Adrien frowned. Sure, he hadn't really been friendly with Marinette until recently, but in the past couple weeks he'd started to grow rather fond of her. So much so, he was occasionally confused and conflicted about his affections. Now he didn't have to be and he couldn't be more overjoyed. After yesterday it explained _so_ much about that jump and why she was so fast!

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen. The same as you. You KNOW that."

"I know. I'm drawing a blank," she sighed.

She nuzzled into his chest again and he wriggled, giggling, "That tickles."

"What...this?" she wiggled her nose into his ribs again as he cackled and squealed under her.

"Stop! Mari, stop!"

"Wait..." she stopped, "Did you like me before you knew I was Ladybug?"

He hummed happily, "Without a doubt."

"Did I like you?"

He frowned and moaned non-committally, "Uh...I'm not sure. I don't know. We are friends, becoming closer, but I can't really say."

Friends. Becoming closer.

Marinette's eyes snapped up to him. She saw his face and froze. It _was_ him _._ Her breath started to come faster and she could feel her eyes pricking with tears. Before she knew it she was crying and buried her face in his chest.

Adrien held her, but he was confused. Was she upset? Surprised? Confused? Disappointed? He couldn't tell. "Shh, Marinette, it's okay." He gently massaged her back comfortingly. She tried to talk, but only managed to blubber unintelligible nonsense. "Are you upset?"

"WHAT?!" she shrieked, still shaking, "Are you kidding? NO! Relieved. Elated!"

"Oh. I'm confused."

Marinette sat up, turned to face the window, and took deep, steadying breaths. She peeked to look at him for a second. He waved and smiled back at her. She squeaked and looked away again.

She still couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Whew...A-dri-en..." it came out like in slow motion. No way this could be happening. She pinched herself discretely, "I've been..." He put a hand on her forearm and rubbed it gently, encouraging her to calm down.

"Hey," he jumped up with an idea that came to mind, "Plagg, claws out." There was a flash of green light and he was Chat Noir again. He scurried over to kneel next to her on the bed. "Does this help?"

She looked over at him as Chat Noir and smiled, "Actually...yeah. I've been unable to function around you since that first day we met. Do you remember?"

"The day you yelled at and accused me of putting gum on your seat?"

"Yeee-ah," she drawled out, "That day."

"I remember you functioning just fine that day."

"Yes," she nodded and chuckled at herself. There were still tears in her eyes, but they'd stopped rolling down her cheeks. He reached out with a gloved hand and gently wiped the trails away; Marinette gasped. "Th-that day. I was angry. And then, you apologized and...I fell unbelievably hard for you." The silence was deafening. Chat Noir had frozen next to her in shock. "I lost the ability to function when you handed me your umbrella. You gave it to me just so I wouldn't have to get drenched in the pouring rain. It was sweet and I was instantly smitten."

"I had no idea," he whispered, "I always thought you were still holding a bit of a grudge."

"No," she chuckled quietly, "Quite the opposite, actually."

"So you already thought you loved me? Do you know what this means?!" Adrien dropped the transformation, "This is perfect-we were meant to be together."

"Huh?" Her surprise was evident.

"I've been desperately in love with Ladybug since day one, too, Marinette, and Ladybug is _you_!" He looked down shyly, "Can I kiss you?"

Marinette felt her stomach flutter excitedly, "You have kissed me." Then in realization she inhaled sharply making Adrien jump, "You're...I'm..." She shivered slightly as her fingertips came up to brush her lips.

He blushed and he glanced up shyly, "Married."

"Oh my...Adrien, you're my _husband_!"

His heart swelled at the awe he heard in her voice. "And you're my _wife_ , Marinette." He couldn't help, but smile.

"What are we going to tell people? I mean, we can't tell them we're married. What are we going to do?" Alya. They were going to be in so much trouble.

"Well, we still have some time...we could plan an actual wedding," he winked.

"We'd have to." Her face broke into a huge grin, "Aaaaand, have a _real_ honeymoon."

Adrien gulped, "So...about that kiss?" She glanced up at him shyly. He pursed his lips, "I've been trying really hard not to."

"Why?" her eyes widened with dismay.

Adrien broke into laughter, "Because I wanted to respect you." Marinette couldn't help a small giggle.

"What did I do to deserve you? Of course you can kiss me _and_ you don't have to ask permission."

"Oooh, I like that," he grinned cheekily, "That goes double for me."

They both leaned forward and when their lips touched their eyes slid closed. The warmth of their soft lips gently pressed together sent a tingle down to their toes. Adrien leaned closer and pressed his body against hers. She moaned against his lips. Adrien parted his slightly and Marinette followed so they could explore each other a bit more intimately. As they deepened the kiss they both were filled with euphoria. This moment-it was perfect. This is what made their lives worth living together; being irrevocably, hopelessly, wrapped up in each other.


	20. Hello

The afternoon came much faster than Marinette would have liked. Her parents would probably wonder where she was if she didn't come back soon. They'd slept in and cuddled for longer than she ever imagined she'd have the pleasure of experiencing, if she were being realistic.

They'd sat down to breakfast at the coffee table and ended up picking out a film to watch. It was a Disney movie. Marinette had learned he was a romantic at heart _and_ a Disney fan. They were a match made in Heaven without a doubt.

Adrien had fallen asleep during their last movie together. He had a sweet habit of giggling in his sleep. She thought it was absolutely adorable. He'd fallen over against her shoulder before turning to snuggle against her chest. It came out in a hum through his nose that reminded her of Winnie the Pooh. When he did it the first time she thought he was awake, but just when she realized he was asleep he did it again. She gushed over him and whispered, "Awww, you're so cute." She reflexively wrapped her arms around him to hug him closer to her. He was precious.

The warmth of his body sent a shiver through her. Marinette tenderly slipped her fingers through his soft, golden locks. She couldn't believe that Adrien was Chat Noir. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the differences between him, as Adrien, and him with the mask. Adrien was sweet, kind, innocent, and quiet. It often seemed he didn't have much to say. Then there was Chat. Chat was flirty, playful, and never seemed to shut up. Although, thinking back she remembered just how playful Adrien really was; there was always a sparkle in his eyes when he'd stifle giggles or someone would say something Chat-like. He wasn't really shy, but reserved. At times, though, he was utterly shameless and Marinette could only just now see him as he was. Adrien was Chat Noir.

"Hmmm," he hummed and rubbed his head against her fingertips, "You may want to stop doing that before you start something I have to finish."

Marinette gulped at the flirtatious way he spoke to her. Oh my. She gently removed her fingers from his hair, "I'm afraid I need to head home, Chaton."

She heard him huff a pout as he snuggled deeper against her side. His arms snaked around her waist and he held her firmly, "No."

Marinette giggled, "You can't keep me here forever."

"Wanna bet?" he growled.

"I have to get home. My parents will call the police or something if I don't come home soon."

"Don't care," he shook his head sulkily, "You're not going."

"Adrien." The serious tone in her voice triggered the snapping of his eyes to hers. They were unashamed; possessive and feral. He seriously didn't want her to go. "Don't give me that look! You and I both know-"

"That you're mine?" He buried his head against her ribs again and nuzzled her gently.

Marinette chuckled at his petulant child-like attitude. This was a personality trait she'd never seen in him before; possessive. It sent a thrill through her knowing how strongly he desired they stay together. She squirmed trying to free herself from him, but he just ensnared her in a tighter, vice-like grip. She pulled one arm free and wrapped it around him, gently stroking his back, and chuckled, "You realize I'm going to win, don't you? Is that why you're so...clingy?"

His face jerked up and Adrien gasped in mock affront, "I. am. not. _clingy_."

"Whatever you say, dear," Marinette placed a kiss to his nose.

His eyes blinked and a silly smile came over his face, "God, I love you," he purred, releasing his grip on her.

"I don't want to go, either, you know. I just realize we still have to pretend we're Adrien and Marinette. **Friends**." She put extra added emphasis on the word 'friends' so he would catch on. They couldn't let everything fall apart right now. It had only been one day and already he was losing his resolve. They had to pull this off or it would cause all kinds of problems in their every day lives.

His breath burst out of him like a balloon popping, "Buu...noooo," he whined. He leaned his head back, "This sucks."

"What sucks?"

"Knowing the girl I fell in love with, _twice,_ coincidentally, I can't have because _no one_ knows that I love her. It isn't fair."

"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here?" she smirked.

"It's a process. It makes it easier to detach myself from you."

"Clingy," she mumbled again.

He glared at her, "I'm not...I'm clingy," he nodded in agreement, "I won't apologize. You can't make me. I'm not sorry."

"Neither am I," Marinette sighed happily while leaning him back so she could wrap her arms around his torso and lay her head on his chest. This side of Adrien, the soft, vulnerable, needy side, she'd never seen before. She felt honored he shared himself with her. An overwhelming urge to express her affection came over her and it tumbled out, "I love you."

"I love you," he kissed the top of her head. Then he grinned, "This is surprisingly easy. Effortless, even."

"Hugging tends to be pretty straightforward," Marinette stated with amusement.

Adrien lifted his head to look at her, his eyebrows rising, "Someone is sassy!" They both chuckled, "Thank you, Mrs. Obvious, but I was referring to us; our marriage and affections. Way to ruin the serious moment I was going for." He clicked his tongue in fake irritation.

Marinette began to snicker, "I'm sorry, you're Adrien now. I'm ready. Okay, this going between the two different versions of you in my head is difficult for me without the mask's visual assist."

"Ah, yes, you do know that I, Adrien Agreste, am Chat, too, right?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I'm learning."

"Keep up," he chuckled, "No, I was meaning getting into this whole relationship has been so effortless. Yesterday, last night even, I thought we were going to be living in different cities for the next few years while you go to school and I'd spend the better part of that time trying to win your affections. Imagine my surprise, when I find out that we're going to start our lives together, _now_ , and you already love me. I'm just overwhelmed."

Marinette thought to herself quietly. It was pretty amazing at how life had worked out in their favor. He at least knew he was marrying Ladybug, someone he was already in love with, so he'd just have to win her affections. She was going in with a much more blind faith in their relationship in spite of the depressing realization that she couldn't have Adrien. Here she was getting to have her cake and eat it, too.

"I agree, mon minou, but now we really need to discuss after. We can't tell anyone that we're married."

"No, no!" his eyes widened thinking about their friends finding out. He'd have been able to play off a secret marriage if it was with a stranger, the girl he thought Ladybug was, but there's no way they could pass it off if his love was Marinette. He'd been trying not to show any interest in her as of late because he secretly wanted to. Then there was the media. They'd know something was off with Adrien and demand answers. No, no one could know they were married.

"We have a week until Alya and Nino get back. We'll need to come up with a back story; like how we started dating or something."

Adrien was nodding absentmindedly, his mind somewhere else, when he gasped, "Oh no! Mari, I told my father I wasn't seeing you." His eyes were wide as he realized this mistake. "I lied...to my father. He's a human lie detector. He's going to know."

"He didn't," she smirked.

"That's because I didn't know it at the time," he waved his hand flippantly. Then he grinned and looked at her, "No, he didn't." It was a satisfied smug expression that he wore now. He'd inadvertently pulled one over on his old man, but Gabriel didn't need to know that. He could play this off as part of a master plan and feign his prowess at the art of subterfuge. He wondered if his dad would buy that? Probably not, but at least he did manage to fool him once. He'd have to be sure to avoid him until he could invite Marinette over. A silly smile came over his face when he remembered the disappointment on his father's face when he'd told him Marinette wasn't his girl. "You do realize you are going to have to come over for supper as my fiance soon, right?"

"Yes," she smiled shyly, "I did realize that."

Adrien rubbed her back gently, "Don't worry about it, Marinette. I think my father has a soft spot for you."

Her head snapped up, "HE DOES!?" She'd only ever met the man once, in person, and she'd heard horror stories about his prickly demeanor.

Adrien chuckled, "I know, right? He was charmed after graduation. I don't know what you put in those cookies, but I need a bucket of it."

"Why?" she mused.

He stiffened and looked away, "Let's just say I don't get similar vibes from the man."

The distance he put between his affectionate 'father' and 'the man' in such a short time made her heart just about break.

"I'm sure he has a soft spot for you, too," she nuzzled his chest, "You're his son."

Adrien huffed coldly, "I'd like to think that, but sometimes I think I'm just fooling myself."

"I can't imagine how hard that is," she sighed and felt sorry for him. "But, I'm sure he does." Then she crawled into his lap to catch his face in her hands, "I don't see how he couldn't." With that, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Adrien wrapped his arms around her again and held her firmly against his chest.

After a tender moment, she pulled back, "All right, now how are we going to begin dating?"

Adrien smirked before he started to chuckle, "This is so crazy, Marinette."

"Yes, but it has to be done," she smiled.

Adrien gently lifted and deposited her on the other end of the couch. He leaned towards her, "Hi."

Marinette blinked and stared.

"No, don't be rude," he jumped towards her and tucked her bangs behind her ear before bouncing back to his side of the couch, "Let's try that again. Hi."

"Hello," she giggled.

He grinned happily, "Marinette, would you like to go out with me tomorrow?"

She held a hand to her chest in mock surprise, "Why, Adrien, I thought you'd never ask. Yes, I'd love to go out with you."

They both stared at each other and melted into a fit of giggles at the absurdity of it, but at least they were now officially 'dating.'

He slid alongside her and draped his arm around her shoulders, "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Don't you think we're moving a little fast?"

Their eyes met and they erupted into hysterics again. Fast. FAST?! Ha, in a little over two weeks they were engaged and hitched. Fast. Pssh.

"This is all so ridiculous," he wiped the tears from his eyes, but his chest was still shaking with laughter.

"Why, yes, I will be your girlfriend."

"YES!" he did an air punch and smiled, "Whew! I was afraid you'd turn me down." She rolled her eyes at him. "Too much?" She giggled and he winked at her.

"We were made for each other," she laid her head on his shoulder, "Dork."

"Nerd."

"Model."

"Baker."

"Adonis."

"Aphrodite." He smiled and stared at her as she tried to come up with something else to say. Then he sighed, "You said that like you were surprised," he smiled.

"What?"

"We were made for each other."

"No," she shook her head, "I just feel so fortunate, grateful, and thankful that you're you." They sat in companionable silence for a minute before Marinette groaned, "I really have to be getting home now, kitty, or there will be hell to pay. Come visit me tonight!"

Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. A little growl escaped his lips, "You couldn't keep me away."

All the contact between she and Adrien had her head swimming now. She'd have trouble thinking about anything else. She placed a hand to his chest gently to steady her legs as she stood up. The surreal feeling came in floods; the wave of disbelief rocked her again. "I can't believe this happened, Adrien."

He kissed her head and she heard him breath through his nose against her hair. "I know," he whispered, "How do you feel about it?"

"I'm just completely floored. You have no idea how long I was obsessed with you. I thought about telling you this many times, I was going to confess once I'd married Chat, who coincidentally turned out to be you." She was shifting nervously in his arms. Her breath hitched before she sighed heavily, "I had your weekly schedule mapped out to know when you were doing what. I'd arrange to be in the same places so I could catch a glimpse of you. There were pictures plastered on my wall." She allowed herself to glance up at him, biting her lip nervously, "I was a bit of a stalker."

Adrien stared at her silently for a second before he threw his head back and laughed, "HA! I did the same thing to you."

"What?"

"As Ladybug," he grinned, "I had your patrol routes mapped in my room. I'd follow you some nights to see where you went; just to see you and to be there if you needed me to. You had a pattern for each day. I even contemplated calling you to say there was something I wanted you to help me check out just so I could see you. I'd pay Alya with pics of me for extra pictures of you she didn't post on the blog. I had pictures of you on _my_ walls."

Marinette smirked, "What a creep!?"

"HEY!" he exclaimed. She reached up on her tip toes and he pulled back as she kissed his chin. Then he snickered and captured her lips with his sweetly. "Time to go home, lovebug."

"I know," she nodded, "I don't want to."

"Oh, don't forget," he jogged over to the kitchen and picked up her little pot of tulips, "These are yours."

Marinette smiled at the flowers, "They are beautiful."

"I'm going to take the yellow ones, if you don't mind. It is my favorite color."

"Yellow is your favorite color?" she asked surprised. "I thought it was blue!"

"Everyone thinks it is blue. I say blue because my publicist said it is a more popular color, but I adore yellow."

"All yellow? Or a shade in particular?"

"Neon is my favorite. Like that electric green-yellow color," he smirked, "I guess I just like how bright it is."

"You learn something new every day! My favorite color is pink."

"I knew that," he 'booped' her on the nose and she giggled. He was definitely a booper.

* * *

Marinette got back to the bakery at 3:30 PM. Her mother was working the front desk when she got there. The bakery appeared to be pretty slow right now, which was normal for after the lunch rush. Sabine peeked up and smiled.

"Did you have fun hanging out with your friend?" her mom asked.

"Yeah, I did. It was a lot of fun. We watched movies, ate pizza, and hung out."

Sabine noticed the potted tulips, "Those are pretty."

"Aren't they? I couldn't resist. They are beautiful." Marinette held them to her chest like the precious gift they were.

"I'll be sure to pick up another planter for you when I go out later."

"Thank you, maman!" she leaned over to give her mom a peck on the cheek, "Love you!"

"Love you, honey."

Marinette hopped up to her room and collapsed on her bed. Staring up at her ceiling she allowed herself to squeal excitedly and flail about in her bed. All the pent up energy...surprise, shock, exhilaration, fortune, graciousness...it all hit her like a ton of bricks. Now that she was away she craved his touch and just now, she realized, it wasn't a dream. There would be more time with him; the rest of her life. This isn't how she'd imagined it going, but she wasn't going to complain. She didn't even mind. As far as Marinette was concerned, Adrien's father's push to marry off his son had just given her the greatest gift imaginable. Not only was his son hers, but years before she'd have ever imagined it happening. They get to spend more time together; getting to know each other and going on dates. It was like they were getting a head start. She'd have to find a way to thank him someday.

There was a guilt in her gut now that she was home, though. She hadn't expected to feel the intense desire to tell her mother about her marriage to Adrien, but it was there. She just wanted to run up, hug her, and gush about the past few days; how amazing Adrien was and the great journey they were sharing. This secret would be harder than she thought.


	21. Giant

Chat Noir landed on the roof of the bakery and leaned against the brick wall on the patio. His heart was pounding. They'd just been separated for only a few hours, but it felt like his feelings had been magnified ten fold. He'd immediately collapsed and hyperventilated in shock on his bed as soon as he'd gone home. Trying, as hard as he could, to detach himself from her so he wasn't overwhelmed. He'd managed in her presence, but once he was alone the walls came tumbling down.

 

Marinette might not understand if he'd collapsed in a blubbering mess in her arms. He had to talk about her in the third person or it would have been too much. He was afraid he'd have spooked her if he'd turned into a ball of mush in her arms. It was supposed to be a happy day, dang it! Sure, she was his wife, but they weren't there yet. She was Marinette. She was Ladybug. He'd spent too long building up that stronghold of a facade that he'd forgotten where he'd hidden the key a long time ago. Luckily for him, Marinette came armed with a pick axe and it made his knees shake just thinking about seeing her again.

"Chat?" a head popped out of the hatch.

"Marinette?" he was breathless. It took a quick shake of his head to get his emotions under control. He was about to pass out with anticipation. It was building in his gut. The realization had really sunk in and hit home when he'd left her. He had been lost in his own mind at the weight of this. He was still in shock. She was there for him, for real.

"Come in, you silly kitty!" she exclaimed reaching for him, "It's going to rain."

Adrien crawled in after her. Marinette lounged back on her bed and Chat crawled in after her. He laid his head against her shoulder and she rubbed his cheek affectionately.

"You really are a cat," she laughed running her fingers through his hair, feather light. The physical contact was still new. They'd gotten comfortable with each other, but then the doubt sunk back into her mind when they were apart. It was so new that it wasn't like getting back on a bicycle. No, this was so much more complex.

Adrien noticed her hesitation to touch his hair so he grabbed her hand and helped her massage his scalp with a hum. When she pushed more firmly on her own he smiled.

"Is that what you wanted?" she giggled shyly.

He purred in response.

"I really like it," he nodded. Adrien craved her touch. She was ambrosia.

"Are you staying?" The question hung between them for a minute and Marinette stopped breathing. She hoped he'd stay.

"Do you want me to?"

"Yes." The lack of hesitation brought a brilliant flash of white splitting across his face.

"It would be an honor, my lady." Chat detransformed and Marinette chuckled. He was already wearing his pajamas.

"You came prepared," she squealed excitedly.

"I did hope you would invite me to stay," he blushed, "I wasn't sure."

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I might not be able to see you tomorrow night. I'm booked pretty solid for the next couple days. Father has an ad he wants to get out and it's going to be two days of on and off photo shoots."

"Sounds..."

"Dismal," Adrien sighed.

"Come back to me when you can, kitty," she yawned, "Bed time for now. I'm tired."

He wrapped his arms around her with a sigh and whispered, "I never want to let you go."

"I don't want you to," she whispered back and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Her lips came away from his face wet and salty; a tear. She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled closer to him, "My sweet, sensitive Chaton."

Adrien smiled against her hair. How lucky he felt to have this girl in his life. It was nice knowing he wasn't going to be alone anymore. It was the last thought before he succumbed to sleep.

* * *

The following day Chat made it a priority to sneak away and visit Marinette after his full day of photo shoots. He'd talked to his father about bringing her to the house and the plans for their shoots had changed. Plus, there was a little drama he'd gotten caught up in that afternoon which delayed his visit.

Nino was beside himself in Barcelona because Alya was 'flirting' with a guy there. Apparently, he wasn't even interested in Alya; Nino was more his type. Nino found out the hard way after making a fool of himself and feeling guilty about it. The drama was just never ending. Adrien listened to him rant and tried to be supportive, but he really couldn't do a whole lot without being there.

By the look of Marinette, her head on her pillow and her phone next to her open hand, he could only assume she'd been putting out related fires with Alya. He smirked, glancing down at her sleeping form. The temptation was too much. Instead of waking her up, to let her know he was there, he dropped his transformation. Slowly, he slipped in alongside her, beneath the covers, and pulled her gently against his chest so he could hold her. He intertwined his legs with hers and buried his nose in her neck. Breathing in the scent, he smiled when the smell of vanilla and mint reached his nose. His arms automatically squeezed her gently trying to get that much closer.

At about 5:30 am, Marinette woke to the sound of Adrien laughing sweetly in his sleep. She smiled and turned to face him. His arms reflexively tightened around her as she wrapped her arms around his torso and held him close. This was how she'd like to wake up every morning.

Adrien yawned and stretched, wiping his eyes, and peeked down at Marinette. He smiled as he noticed she'd wrapped herself in him, too.

"Good morning."

"Morning, kitty," she nuzzled his chest.

"My father wants to meet you," Adrien whispered. "On Friday, I'll pick you up and we'll have supper."

"Friday?"

He could hear the question she hadn't asked, "I have to do a shoot on location in Monaco tomorrow. I didn't know we'd be gone overnight until today. Natalie had apparently tried sending me text messages, but I had been ignoring her for obvious reasons." _Nino_.

"So you are going away?" she squeezed him tightly, "I was looking forward to doing this again tomorrow."

He kissed her forehead and smiled, "Patience. We'll get a chance to have more nights together soon. Don't worry. We'll go apartment shopping and maybe get a place that we can share." Marinette beamed up at him. "A place we could practice making those kittle-bugs." He placed a sweet kiss on her shocked nose.

Marinette's stomach fluttered and warmed, the heat rising up into her cheeks, at the idea of sharing that experience with Adrien. An image flashed into her head of panting and petting, and she gulped, suddenly feeling awfully hot at his close proximity and her blossoming feelings. She tried to move that idea out of her head, but couldn't resist a touch. She slid her hand up under his t-shirt and caressed his bare back gently with her fingers. He shivered and gasped under her palm. She smiled in response.

"You want me," he whispered, looking in her eyes in the dim light through her window. He smiled, "I want you, but our time will come. That time isn't now."

"I know," she sighed into his neck, "I just wanted to feel you."

* * *

The next night had been lonely, but Marinette got text messages from Adrien. It was the first night they hadn't seen each other since their secret marriage. It was strange to ache for his touch when she'd only been with him for such a small amount of time. She thought her crushing on him was bad! It had nothing on this.

**A: Are you awake, lovebug?**

Adrien was curled into his comforter on his king sized bed. The cocoon was an attempt to comfort himself without her. In the past he'd have stretched out to his full capacity, but now that just reminded him of her absence.

**M: Yes. How was your day?**

Marinette was wrapped around her pillow and clutching it to her chest. His message brought an instant smile to her face.

**A: Same old, same old. Yours?**

**M: I worked in the bakery.**

**A: Was everything delicious?**

**M: Yes, everything we make is delicious.**

**A: I can't wait.**

**M: For what, kitty?**

**A: To bring you home so you can cook for me.**

Marinette's breath caught and she snuggled her face into her pillow.

**M: That sounds wonderful. I'm ready!**

Adrien smiled to himself. The idea of sharing, and building, a home with Marinette made his stomach flutter and his heart soar.

**A: I miss you.**

**M: I miss you, too.**

**A: This bed is too big for one person.**

**M: I wish I could be there with you.**

Adrien smiled at that. How he wished the same.

**A: Someday. I feel like a part of me is missing.**

"Aww," Marinette sighed to herself.

**M: I feel the same. Come back to me soon.**

**A: And still not soon enough.**

**M: Ever the charmer. ;) Sleep well, Chaton.**

**A: Sweet dreams, my lady.**

* * *

It was finally Friday and Marinette was rushing to find something appropriate to wear to Adrien's. She pulled out a little blush pink dress she'd made with maroon rosettes embroidered on vines around the bottom and then a matching belt. The top had off the shoulder sleeves and a gathered bust. It was simple, yet formal, and perfect for having dinner with Adrien's father. It was one of her favorite pieces she'd made; both in style and craftsmanship.

Adrien pulled up to her house in the same car he rode in everywhere. She could tell he wasn't driving when she saw him step out of the back door from her balcony.

She'd curled her hair and pulled them together with a ribbon tied as a headband around her head. It matched her dress with a little red rosette on the top.

Running down the stairs she could hear her parents greeting Adrien in the store.

"Marinette is just upstairs. You are welcome to come up," Tom said opening the door. Marinette was waiting. "There she is! We were just coming to get you."

"Hi, daddy," she smiled. Then Adrien peeked in, "Adrien." He blushed as she looked on him affectionately.

"Your mother wants to get a picture of you in this dress, Marinette," he smiled. He turned to Adrien, "Every dress Marinette makes, Sabine photographs her wearing. Well, unless it is for someone else, but she still gets a picture. SABINE!"

Sabine came rushing up the stairs with a camera, "Coming! Yes, stay right there." Adrien was loitering around behind them and Sabine urged, "Adrien, why don't you get in there with her. She doesn't have to be in the picture by herself. You are looking mighty handsome tonight, too."

"Thank you, ma'am," he smiled.

"And this is for a supper with your father?" Tom asked with some surprise.

"Yes," Adrien nodded.

"I don't think we get that dressed up for a date, let alone my own family," Tom mumbled to himself. Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances. Her parents had no idea how the other side lived. She didn't, either, but she looked forward to learning. They were already family, after all.

"Have fun, guys!" Sabine gave them each a hug and sent them on their way with a cloth filled with cookies, "Don't spoil your dinner, but if there's not much substance to it, take these just in case."

"Thank you, maman," Marinette waved as she ran out the door, "I love you both!" Her hand went to her lips and she blew a kiss after them.

* * *

The car ride was relatively short. Adrien didn't miss the way Marinette kept chuckling to herself next to him.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?" he inquired.

"Do you remember the last time we were in this car and going to your house?"

Adrien's eyebrows scrunched in confusion and then skyward as he remembered, "Oh, lord." He put his head in his hands, "I'd completely forgotten."

"I haven't," she smirked, "It was the highlight of my day in a hilarious sort of way."

He peeked at her in disbelief, "I thought you were angry. You looked like you were never going to talk to me again."

"NO!" she exclaimed, "I was embarrassed."

"Because I..."

"Yeah," she nodded, "I liked you a LOT and you didn't return that affec-"

"I did," he corrected, "In a different form." Chat, obviously.

She nodded, "That you did, but I didn't know it was you."

"Our lives are so complicated."

"Not anymore, I hope," she smiled at him.

He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, "I love you." He felt compelled to tell her just as much as he really needed to hear her say it back. His eyes glistened and she could see it was immense emotion inside of him. The way his eyes sparkled spoke volumes.

Her heart melted. "I love you." She still blushed when she said that, and so did he, but it was becoming more comfortable between the two of them each time they said it. Adrien beamed back at her and rubbed the back of her hand against his cheek.

They pulled into the driveway of the Agreste Mansion and Adrien walked around to open the door for her. Marinette grasped his hand in hers, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from his house. She'd been here before, but for some reason this was the most intimidated she'd been. Gabriel Agreste was in that building, right now, waiting for them...her.

"I'm so nervous," she muttered.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, "Don't be. He likes you."

"I hope you're right," she grinned, "I packed him some more cookies."

Adrien's smile grew, "You didn't."

"I did," she nodded, "You said he liked them."

"I never thought my own wife would be my competition," he chuckled.

"Not competition," she smirked, "I'm your companion. We're going to warm the cockles of his heart so he shows you how much he loves you."

"Good luck," Adrien grumbled moodily and frowned. His father was a sensitive subject for him.

Adrien pushed the doors open and met Natalie there in the entrance.

"Adrien," she greeted, "Your father is expecting you and...you're the girl from the bakery." Nathalie's eyes widened and her voice betrayed her surprise.

"Marinette," Adrien said firmly.

"Marinette," Natalie nodded, "Nice to meet you." The edges of her lips were twitching while she suppressed a smile.

She offered Marinette a hand and she shook it. Then she let herself smile, "The pleasure is mine." Adrien noticed it wasn't Nathalie's stiff, business smile, either. It was genuine and he was touched.

As Adrien lead Marinette towards the dining room, Natalie sent Gabriel an update on his pager.

**Ms. Sancoeur: On their way. She is enchanting.**

That was Natalie's raving review of Marinette. Natalie knew by the glint in Adrien's eyes, and an unspoken communication, that his father wasn't supposed to know who he was bringing to dinner. Natalie could have said the girl from the bakery or Marinette and he'd probably be able to pick it out. Natalie knew he wasn't looking forward to meeting some random girl who is probably trying to marry Adrien for his money or fame. He had a whole list of questions he'd spent all week writing to try and figure out the intentions of this mystery girl in order to determine whether or not she was worthy. Natalie chuckled to herself thinking about all the wasted time he'd spent writing, and memorizing, all those questions that were likely to die in his throat when he sees Adrien's dinner guest.

* * *

Gabriel was rarely surprised. In fact, he could probably count less than a dozen instances and only a handful of those were pleasant. This was not his type of dinner date and he knew Adrien was keeping this girl a mystery just to annoy him. This was one of those times he'd relinquished control and he should have known it would go badly. He had given him a little bit of space and he'd gone and abused his consideration. Gabriel sat at the table unfolding and refolding his napkin. It was a nervous tick he'd picked up years ago when he was getting started in design. He worked in a classy lounge for moguls and spent a lot of his time folding napkins and polishing silver; two things he found cathartic to this day. He was already addicted to the feel of fabric and the shine of metal accessories so it was only natural.

He glanced down at his watch and huffed. He'd sat down to the table ten minutes early. There were three minutes left. One thing he hated was tardiness. That's when his pager blipped. "On their way. She is enchanting," he mumbled to himself, "I'll be the judge of that, Ms. Sanceour." He didn't even attempt to hide his frown. There was little doubt in his mind that he'd be disappointed.

Just then the dining room door swung open and Adrien stepped in. He turned to offer his arm to his guest. Her arm nestled gently in his as he walked her in. Gabriel's eyes widened and his frown disappeared to be replaced with a pleasantly surprised smile.

"Adrien!" He was definitely surprised. "And Marinette," he cooed, standing up and rushing over to greet them.

Adrien's eyes widened in shock at his father's casual and openly friendly attitude towards Marinette. He even remembered her name. He exchanged glances between the two as if maybe they'd pulled one over on him, but then shook his head slightly, embarrassed, as there was no way that could have happened. He was just in awe at the change in his father's demeanor.

Gabriel reached out for Marinette's hand. She gave it to him and he kissed it, "Enchanté, mademoiselle."

Marinette giggled, but managed a curtsy while Adrien attempted to keep his wits about him. That's when his father turned to face him and he gulped.

Gabriel tried to level a withering look at his son with a stern expression. He would have succeeded had his eyes not been sparkling or his lips twitching at the corners of his mouth. Those two things gave him away. Adrien was initially afraid, but then he beamed at his father. The moments were rare, but he was sure he was proud of him.

"Son," he started, "You told me Marinette was not the one."

Adrien looked down at his feet, and smirked, "Yes, sir." He glanced back up and composed himself.

"That was inaccurate, was it not?"

"It was," he nodded.

"Is there a reason you would withhold such satisfaction from me?" Satisfaction in being right and in gaining a gifted daughter-in-law that he approved. Gabriel's eyes were still twinkling, but he'd managed to get his voice and mouth to cooperate with his trademark stoicism.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, father," Adrien looked at Marinette in an attempt to hide his partial truth; he did want to surprise his father, but that wasn't 100% accurate.

Gabriel bought it, "Well, I must say, it is a rather pleasant surprise." He turns back to Marinette and gestures to the table, "Please, have a seat."

Marinette walked to the table with Adrien who pulled out a chair for her. Adrien took the seat across the table, to the left of his father. Gabriel reached out and clasped Marinette's hand.

"Welcome to the family, my dear," he bowed his head.

Marinette was a little choked up. She'd prepared herself for the worst. Adrien had said how cold his father was, and she'd heard rumors, but this interaction had gone smoothly. "Thank you so much, Mr. Agreste."

"Gabriel," he smiled and placed his napkin in his lap, "Call me Gabriel or father; Mr. Agreste is no longer appropriate." His smile was gone, but he was overall pleasant. Adrien was beside himself with pride in Marinette and a little surprised.

Gabriel had geared up for the worst. He was so pleasantly surprised to see Marinette there it had shaken his foundations. The relief was evident in his actions. He and Adrien didn't always see eye to eye, but this was a decision he could live with. He was getting a talented, hard working daughter-in-law that made his son happy. He glanced up at his wife's picture and smiled to himself. Someday, he'd bring her home and this was one of those moments he'd be proud to reminisce even though she was absent. There were so few of those.


	22. Square One

The dinner they had never expected to go so smoothly. Gabriel praised Marinette over her dress, floored when she told him it was completely original, and then looked like he was touched when she handed him a second sachet of cinnamon rounds. He didn't say as much, but she could tell how much he appreciated the gesture. It made Marinette frown a little when she realized Adrien and his father were starving emotionally.

That night, Marinette swung back to his house as soon as he'd dropped her off. She even wrote a note that said, 'Got up early, went for a run, and might grab coffee' on her desk in case her mom came to check on her. She was covered until at least 9:00 tomorrow morning.

He left the window open for her to sneak in, but when she got there he was no where to be found. She waited for about fifteen minutes before she decided to try and find him. There was a chance she'd be caught, but Nathalie and his father would understand. Her searching was appearing to be pointless when she heard muffled voices coming from Gabriel's office. Nathalie must have gone to bed as her desk was empty. Marinette approached the sound of talking.

"The Bora-Bora trip that first week in August; is Marinette coming with you?" It was Gabriel's voice.

"I will have to ask her."

"You have a lot to discuss." There was a prolonged silence. Marinette wishes she'd caught the earlier part of the conversation. What was he talking about? What did they have to discuss? Her curiosity was piqued. After the silence became a little awkward she heard Gabriel whisper, "I do realize this hasn't been easy for you...on either of us."

"Since mom left," she could imagine Adrien nodding.

There was a heavy sigh, "I wanted to say...I'm proud you are my son."

Marinette heard a sharp intake of breath that could only be Adrien's gasp of surprise. Why would he be surprised?

"Father...I..." Adrien looked down at his hands, his throat thick with emotion, and he was trying really hard to maintain his composure. He gulped and looked up at Gabriel who looked...guilty. "Thank you."

"Go get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Marinette's head jerked up. Tomorrow was Saturday! Adrien had promised her they'd spend some quality time together. Had the plans changed? She felt her stomach drop and she was suddenly disappointed.

"Yes, sir."

"Good night, Adrien."

"Good night, Father."

Marinette quickly bolted for the stairs and snuck back into Adrien's room. She rested on his bed, trying to steady her rapid breathing, and pretended to look like she had been there the whole time waiting for him. Maybe he'd think she just got there.

Adrien opened the door to his bedroom and glanced over to his bed where Marinette was waiting for him. He grinned, "Hello, beautiful."

Marinette blushed, even through her flushing from running, and smiled at him, "Well hi there, gorgeous." Adrien smirked and went a little pink himself and Marinette smiled.

He approached the bed, pulling off his tie, and dropping his suit jacket on the back of his desk chair. Marinette gulped as she saw him start to undress. She'd never seen him remove clothing before and it stirred something deep inside of her; want, need, desire. She couldn't tell, but all she knew is she liked it. He noticed how her eyes were tracking his movements and he smiled.

"You like watching me undress, my lady?" He said with a wink.

"Perhaps," she smiled. "You are nice to look at." She glanced away shyly. Caught.

Adrien got a glint in his eye as he began to unbutton his dress shirt. "You can watch." Marinette's shot back up to him, "I don't mind."

She watched as he undid all the buttons on his dress shirt and slowly slipped it down his shoulders. Underneath, there was an undershirt. When he grabbed a hole of his buckle her eyes widened and he chuckled. Although, undeterred, he flicked it open and slipped it off. His hand went to his dress pants button and Marinette looked away with a blush rising to her cheeks. Although, Adrien caught her peeking as he slipped out of the pants and draped them over the jacket on the chair.

He was standing in front of her in a pair of boxers and an undershirt. He grinned, "I don't go commando, princess."

"I didn't think you did," she smirked, "I just find getting undressed to be particularly...intimate."

He nodded and walked over to her, putting an arm around her shoulders, "You and I are...intimate." He paused for the same effect.

She squeaked, "I know."

"You're so adorable, Mari," he laughed and placed his chin on top of her head. She turned into him to bury her face in his chest.

They sat there in companionable silence a moment when Adrien remembered something.

"Ah, I forgot. Can you come over tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Marinette's heart rose into her throat. This had to do with what he and Gabriel had been talking about. "Yes, I can."

"Father insists on designing your dress. He wants to get your measurements tomorrow at four. He has also offered to hire a wedding planner for us."

"That is so generous of him," her eyes widened.

Adrien nodded and smiled happily, "I know." He sighed as he remembered their conversation. "He's been acting differently lately and I can't quite figure it out."

"Yeah? How so?"

"He hasn't been home much. Nathalie doesn't know where he is half the time. It's just strange. He almost seems...happy."

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?"

Adrien frowned and pulled back to look at her, "I hadn't thought of that. I can't imagine him being happy with anyone, but mom." Then he smirked, "That would make sense, though."

"He really loved her, didn't he?"

Adrien's eyes looked down, sadly, "She made him a different person." Adrien thought back to all the looks and affection his father used to share with his mother and sighed, "I think she was the one for him, Mari, and he lost her."

Marinette squeezed his hand, "I feel for him."

"Yeah, well, he's not the same." There was a hardness to his voice. There was a pause and his demeanor changed, "Ah, I meant to ask. Father has a shoot planned for me in Bora-Bora the first week of August. Do you want to come?"

"To Bora-Bora?! Yes, of course! Who wouldn't?"

He grinned, "I just thought I'd ask. He said he needed to figure out a head count so he can get Nathalie working on the budget."

"I can't wait!" she squealed and then her mouth widened into a big yawn.

"Sleep first," he smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "You're exhausted."

* * *

Gabriel Agreste rushed out of his house early on Saturday morning. Nathalie noted his absence when she woke up for breakfast. She'd begun to worry about her employer because of his drastic change in the past few weeks. She'd been combing through his schedule for the past few weeks to see if there was any reason he might be acting differently. Her first tip off was one of the Agreste family albums, from when Adrien was a small child, left out on his desk. She had first assumed Adrien needed a picture for school or some such notion, but then the book disappeared while Adrien was still at school.

She pulled the planner up on her computer to the week of Adrien's graduation. That was when he'd really started to change. There was an unscheduled visit she'd hastily typed in the week before graduation. His name was Mr. Henri Vincent. Nathalie couldn't really place his face or what his business was. Then there was another visit from a Mrs. Talli Lorraine. Talli she could remember, a tall woman with black hair and large ebony eyes. She couldn't remember what her business was, either, but it had been hastily jotted down as a last minute appointment. Nathalie dropped her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose and sighed. "What is going on with you, sir?"

She jolted when he answered, "Are you snooping into my affairs, Ms. Sancoeur?"

Nathalie's head shot up and she hastily put her glasses back firmly on her face, "No, sir. I mean, yes, I guess. I'm very sorry, sir. It's none of my business." She braced herself for him being severely angry with her and the onslaught of reprimands or, her biggest fear, firing her. Her hands were shaking and her breath was ragged. She managed to glance up at him slowly. He hadn't said anything. What she saw surprised her. He was wearing a look of amusement. AMUSEMENT?! Did he find her terror funny?

"No, no, Ms. Sancoeur, I believe it is your job to show interest in my affairs, is it not?"

Nathalie let herself breathe a little again, unaware of the light-headedness she'd started to feel at the lack of it, "Yes, sir."

"I appreciate your interest and concern." His lips twitched at the sides like he was trying not to smile, "In fact, I believe it is time I brought you into my confidence. My office, Ms. Sancoeur."

* * *

Neither Marinette nor Adrien realized the lack of Akuma in the recent weeks. In fact, Hawk Moth had nearly disappeared completely. It wasn't until Saturday morning that something seemed...off.

Marinette woke up to help bake baguettes that morning after swinging home early. She'd been really tired after spending the night with Adrien. Even though she'd been so utterly exhausted, she couldn't let herself fall asleep because that was the first night she'd spent with Adrien at his house. It was a first that she'd like to remember. Her thoughts went back to the smell and feel of his sheets, the softness of his bed beneath her, and the warmth of his body gently holding her as she fought to fall asleep. Her last memory was Adrien humming gently to her 'Prenez Mon Coeur Et Mes Roses.' (Take my heart and my roses.)

Marinette stood over the dough thinking about when she would tell her parents about her and Adrien's 'engagement.' She didn't know how, or when, but she wanted him to be with her. Alya and Nino's flight would get back from Spain tomorrow. Everything was just happening too quickly. That's when Adrien, speak of the devil, walks into the bakery.

"Morning, mon amour," he smiles and takes her hand to place a gentle kiss. "You look absolutely radiant today. That couldn't be because you spent the night locked in the tender embrace of your love, could it?"

"Shhh!" she giggled, "My mom will hear you."

He blushes, "Oops, sorry, Mari."

"Which reminds me-when are we going to tell them about our engagement?"

Adrien smirks, "How about today?" There is a sparkling glint in his eyes as he playfully glances to the back of the bakery.

"How? They think we were having dinner with your father last night...professionally."

"What did you tell them about us?" Adrien asked.

"Virtually nothing. I just told them you were taking me to dinner with your dad. They didn't ask a lot of questions."

"So they didn't suspect...you and I..."

"I don't think so."

He chuckles and she can hear him mutter something that sounded like, "This will be great."

Marinette sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Mr. Dupain...Mrs. Cheng!" Adrien calls. Marinette's eyes go wide and she hisses at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Patience, my love," he smiles back at her.

Sabine comes rushing out of the back, quickly followed by her husband, Tom.

"Adrien!" she greets him jovially, "Back so soon? How was your evening? Marinette told us all about it."

Tom was smiling as if he knew something she didn't.

"Oh, did she now?" he leveled a stare at Marinette with raised eyebrows.

"Of course. She really looks up to your father. Thank you so much for giving her that opportunity."

"My father, huh?" Adrien glared at her incredulously.

"Not out of the realm of possibility," Marinette turned away from him shyly and shoved her tongue into her cheek.

"I have a feeling she may have left some details out." Marinette jerked around and their eyes connected. He was leering at her with that same mischievous sparkle. Her stomach fluttered nervously.

"Adrien..." Warning.

He was slinking up to her slowly, like a cat, and had her cornered.

"I wanted your parents to be here for this," he smiled sweetly. Then, out of his casual brown corduroy jacket, he presented a black velvet box and flipped it open. Inside, was a simple gold solitaire diamond ring; a round stone sparkling up at her. Sabine and Tom both gasped; her hand going to her mouth and Tom's mouth pulling into a smile.

She swallowed nervously. THIS was how she'd always envisioned her engagement going. She hadn't realized tears were in her eyes until one slipped down her cheek. Adrien's voice shook, "Marinette Inez Dupain-Cheng, will you do me the honor of being my wife, to stand by my side, through all of our lives?"

Marinette reached forward and grasped both his hands with the little black box, "Of course I will, Adrien. I'd love nothing more." She squealed excitedly as he wrapped his arms around her waist, picked her up, and twirled her around with his own exclamation of joy. Then he set her gently on the floor and slid the ring onto her finger, "I love you." His eyes were glistening now and threatening to over flow.

"I love you," she grinned back and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Then she turned to her parents and grinned, "We're getting married!" Her tenses might have been off, but her parents wouldn't know it. If it was up to her, they never would. They didn't have to know that her anniversary was actually May 20th. Here she was engaged on May 28th. They'd just have to celebrate two anniversaries; one of them in secret.

Sabine walked up to Marinette and threw her arms around her, "Honey, I didn't know you and Adrien were..."

"I know, I'm sorry," Marinette whispered into her hair, "We've been pretty quiet about it. Alya..."

Her mother pulled back and nodded. Her daughter didn't have to say anything else and she understood.

Tom walked over to congratulate Adrien. Adrien held out his hand for a shake. Tom took it and pulled him into a hug, "Welcome to the family, son."

"Thank you, sir," Adrien blushed, still unused to this kind of affection; especially from men.

"I'm so happy," Sabine turned to Adrien, "I've always wanted a son and now I'm finally going to get one!" Sabine threw her arms around Adrien and hummed excitedly, "We'll have to celebrate...!"

"Tomorrow," Marinette interrupted, "Gabriel wants to design my dress so we're going there this afternoon."

"Your father is designing her dress?" Sabine's eyes widened as she turned to Adrien. The shock and surprise was evident. Gabriel hadn't made a wedding dress since before his mother disappeared. They were his specialty then and the ones he had made were now highly collectible and valuable.

"He is," Adrien nodded.

"Oh, honey," Sabine turned to Marinette, "That is so generous of him."

"I know," Marinette nodded.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetheart," Tom put his arm around Marinette and squeezed, "You have to let your mom and I make your cake."

"Of course, papa," she beamed, "I wouldn't trust it to anyone else."

* * *

Gabriel and Nathalie arrived at a large facility. It was a concrete building with bars on the windows and wire across the top.

"Is this...?" Nathalie couldn't even say it. It looked like a prison.

Gabriel grimaced, "Yes. It is a mental hospital."

"Oh," Nathalie was speechless. Why would he have brought her to a mental hospital?

They walked in the front door and a woman at the front desk smiled up at them, "Good morning, Mr. Agreste! She's been asking about you."

"Has she?" his face broke into a grin that crinkled at the corners of his eyes. Nathalie stared up at him in disbelief. She couldn't manage to say anything.

They were escorted by a man wearing all white through the building to the other side. There was a courtyard with a garden and benches. Lying on one of the benches was a woman wearing a blue and white printed gown and reading something with a smile on her face. He approached her and she looked up at him. Her face broke into a smile and Nathalie gasped. It was as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Gabriel!" she beamed, "You came right back!"

"I promised," he knelt down in front of her, pulling her hand to his mouth, to place a gentle kiss to the back of her hand.

Nathalie looked like she could pass out at any moment. Her knees were shaking and she held onto the back of the bench for support. "I need to sit," she whispered before sitting on the next bench down.

The blonde woman sat up and smiled, "Nathalie!" The familiar greeting pierced through Nathalie right to her heart. She began to shake and a tear dripped down her cheek.

Nathalie turned to look at her, but was still at a loss for words. "Mrs...A-Agreste."


	23. Clarification

Adrien decided to stay at the bakery that morning to drink a cup of coffee with her parents. She wasn't sure if he was actually there to see her at all, the way he was enjoying talking to her parents about all her embarrassing moments.

"Thank you, mom," Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand and tugged, "But I'm going to take a break now."

"Have fun, dear!"

"I'm taking Adrien with me," she glared.

"Oh," Sabine smiled, "Have fun dear-s."

Marinette tugged Adrien towards the park and sat down on a bench with him.

"You played piano!?" his eyes widened, "I play piano, Mari!"

"I was awful at it. I hated my teacher," she sputtered, then smiled, "Yes, I played piano."

"And dance?!"

"I suck at dance," she groaned and dropped her face to her hands. "I wish they'd just let all my failures die in the past."

"Failures? At least you tried. Is there something you did well?"

She blushed, "Martial arts."

"Oooh?!" Adrien's ears perked up at that and he smiled, "I can see that."

Then he leaned in and placed a gentle, loving kiss to her lips. He gently cradled her head in his hand and eased his other over her waist. Marinette ran both her hands up along his face, her thumbs tracing his jaw, and into his hair to massage his scalp just like he liked it. This wasn't their first kiss, but there was something there that hadn't been there before. Want? Desire? It made Marinette's head swim.

Then they were broken out of their intimate kiss by a yell.

"ADRIKINS! Why are you kissing...Marinette? What. The. Hell. Is going on." She glanced from a glaring Adrien to an equally angry Marinette. "Stop! You can't kiss him. Adrien, you should be ashamed. What would your daddy say?" She smirked as if she'd settled the matter.

Adrien smiled smugly and draped his arm around Marinette's shoulders; much to Chloe's obvious, gasping, dismay. "My father approves of Marinette and my relationship," he stated matter of factly. Marinette blushed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"But. Wh-what...rela-relation...RELATIONSHIP?!" A furious shriek erupted from Chloe and everyone around them stared, "NOOO!" She stomped off and pulled out her phone yelling, "Daddy!?" in a strangled sob as she ran out of sight.

"Well, that went well," Adrien grinned down at Marinette.

"I guess I should get back to help mama and papa. Things are slow right now, but they are doing inventory today."

"I'll let you get back to it. Don't forget-four o'clock."

"No, I won't. I'll be there."

* * *

Marinette's parents wanted her to run out a delivery before heading over to the Agreste's.

"We have a call! It's a special day at Rosedale," Sabine smiled, "Looks like one of their patients is celebrating a birthday and she'll be leaving them shortly."

"Leaving?" Marinette's face showed her concern.

"No, no, honey, going home!" her mother laughed, "She's not dying."

Marinette clutched her chest, relieved, "Oh, thank goodness. I don't think I could make the delivery otherwise. What are I taking?"

"A caramel oatmeal coconut cake," her mother smiled, knowing it was Marinette's favorite flavor.

"Not cool, mama!"

Sabine snickered, "You make this delivery and I'll be sure to have one waiting for you when you get home tonight."

Marinette pouted, but agreed, "Fine, but no guarantees."

* * *

Marinette walked up to the large concrete building and stared at the guards at the entrance.

"Afternoon," she smiled, "I have a delivery from the Dupain-Cheng bakery." One of the guards opened the door and ushered her in. There was an orderly ready to escort her to the reception room.

Her eyes glanced around it quickly and noticed there weren't many people there. Then her eyes landed on a woman staring at her with intense green eyes. Her eyes. Those were so familiar to her and Marinette began to shake. An older woman approached her, breaking her out of her haze, and escorted her over to the kitchen.

"Here, dear, you can just place the cake here. You are welcome to stay if you'd like. Marjorie's husband is extremely busy and got called away. He will regretfully miss out on her birthday celebration. Although, her birthday is a ways out. We're celebrating early. Not sure if we'll have an opportunity otherwise."

The lady was rather chatty and Marinette wondered who Marjorie was.

"Marjorie?"

"The woman sitting on the couch when you walked in. Blonde, beautiful..." the woman shook her head, "Really shouldn't be in a place like this, but you know." She sighed sadly.

"What happened?" Marinette's curiosity was piqued. It was too much. There was NO WAY!

"A couple years ago she had a fight with her husband. She was suffering from depression and jumped into the Seine. Luckily, a man was there to pull her out. She was out for days; unconscious and we weren't sure she was going to make it. Then, one day, she woke up. The depression was still there. Her doctor was afraid of a suicide risk. There was no way of getting her to talk, anyway, so they kept her happy with pills."

Marinette knew now the woman had to be breaking some kind of confidentiality or something.

Although, she kept on, "Some old man came around here asking questions and showed a lot of interest in her. Her husband came down, completely beside himself, just a month ago. They've weaned her off of her medication and her mood has lifted considerably. Who could think a man who makes her hate herself enough to end it would be the same man to heal her?" The woman chuckled and smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek. "You're welcome to stay and have a piece if you like." The woman had cut up the cake and served it up on multiple plates.

She loaded a tray with the cake and wheeled it back into the reception room. Marinette couldn't shake the feeling that the woman in question was watching her. Marinette had to admit she was equally curious about her and decided she would stay to eat a piece of cake.

Marinette took a seat next to the woman on the couch.

"This is wonderful," the woman smiled as she slipped a second bite into her mouth.

"Thank you. Oh, and happy birthday...early."

Marjorie smiled at her, "Thank you." There was a quiet pause, "Are you still in school?"

"No," Marinette shook her head, "Well, it's summer break and I just graduated."

"You did? Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Marinette smiled.

"What are you going to do with your summer vacation?"

Marinette thought about it with a smile, "I'm actually engaged to be married."

Marjorie's eyes widened, but Marinette had a feeling she already knew for some reason, "Aww, that's splendid. I do adore weddings. May I see your ring?" Marinette held her hand out to let her see. "It is beautiful. He must be quite a guy."

"He is," Marinette nodded, looking down, "I don't even know if words would do him justice."

"Try," she prompted softly.

"Amazing...fantastic. Intelligent, sweet, brave, caring, compassionate, kind, selfless, adorable. See? Words don't work. I just know that when I'm with him I feel the world stands still. I love him so much that sometimes I find myself upset in how little control I have over it. Even his smallest actions have huge effects on me. When I'm with him I feel everything more than with anyone else. I know it is because I care for him so much that I let him get under my skin. It is wonderful, but frustrating at the same time."

Marinette's sapphire eyes met her peridot ones. The woman's eyes were glistening, "You're wrong. Words work just fine." She reached out and gently squeezed Marinette's hand. All of a sudden, at her touch and the kind gesture, Marinette felt like she couldn't breathe. Those eyes. Those were his eyes. She had to get out of there.

"I hope you have a wonderful birthday, but I do have to get going," Marinette wasn't lying, but she was rushed.

Marjorie noticed her hastiness to leave, "Do come and visit me again. You are a precious girl, Marinette."

Marinette glanced back at her in shock; she hadn't shared her name. She was still smiling kindly at her. Marinette rushed out the door as fast as she could before her breath was sucked completely out of her. Her chest heaved as she leaned over the railing. _His mom. She's his mom._

Her feet were flying as she bounded back for the bakery. What was she going to do? No secrets. They had no secrets. This wasn't confirmed, sure, but this was a secret! Her suspicion was enough. She still had to meet him for a dress fitting with his father. His FATHER! His father knew. He had to know. He'd ordered her cake from their bakery on purpose. Ooooh. She didn't know if she wanted to punch him in the face or kiss the man. How could he do this to her? Surely, she was supposed to know. What did he have up his sleeve? She'd talk to him before she talked to Adrien. In private.

* * *

Adrien waited in his father's office. Arthur (Gorilla) had gone to pick Marinette up. She called him and said she'd be delayed. There was something off in her voice, but he just shrugged it off. Surely, it was the stress about meeting with his father for a design session. There was the sound of a car appearing out front and he dashed to the door, "She's here."

When Adrien opened the door, Marinette shuffled past him hurriedly. "Nice to see you, too."

She smiled, shuffled back to him shyly, before leaning up to place a quick kiss to his lips, "I had a busy day. I'm nervous."

"Don't be. He's practically buzzing. I haven't seen him this way in years," Adrien grinned.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Adrien's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up, "Good?! I don't even think that does it justice. Miraculous, more like it," he winked.

Marinette had a feeling she knew where this 'miraculous' change of attitude was coming from and it had only a little bit to do with designing her dress. She'd have to investigate that later, however, as they were expected to get to work.

* * *

Marinette stood on the stool in Gabriel's office while he ran the tape measure around her figure. Adrien had gone to meet with their wedding planner; discussing appointments for cake tasting and whatnot. Marinette decided this would be the perfect opportunity to test the waters.

She could see Gabriel assessing her as his steely grey eyes traced over her and he gently lifted her arms up and down as he walked around her. "Yes, yes, this will work," he smiled.

Marinette tried not to smile, but couldn't help it. Something about seeing her 'future-father-in-law' in this giddy frame of mind eased the tension she'd been holding since before she arrived.

"Gabriel, "Marinette whispered, "You ordered that cake this morning, didn't you?"

He stopped moving and she could hear him sigh, "Yes."

"And Adrien?"

He moved swiftly to stand in front of her, looking directly into her face as the stool pulled her right up to his eye level, and his face was urgent, "No. He can't know. Not yet. It'll be a surprise." He paused and frowned, "She wants it to be a surprise."

"Does she remember?" Marinette asked.

He sighed and looked down, "She does."

"And you two are..."

He grinned and looked over at her like he'd been dying to tell someone, "Like newlyweds."

"Really?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Now hush. I have to get this dress designed, young lady, and it doesn't happen by magic."

She giggled at the way he chastised her; there was a playfulness to his firm voice. He was serious, but there was just too much happiness bursting out of him to hide. Marinette decided she'd keep their secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just moved this one over from ffn. It is mine, for anyone concerned. :) I'm only moving on a day over, when I remember, and hope to be caught up between the two before I leave.
> 
> ffn= giggling-bubble (same as tumblr, but I'm tech challenged so I still don't know how to really use that yet)


	24. Received

There was a text on Marinette's phone Sunday morning, from Alya.

Alya: Paris, Charles De Gaulle, flight 5304. 12:30 PM.

Marinette: Do you want me to meet you there?

Alya: Could you?

Marinette: I'll need to get a ride.

Alya: Adrien is coming. I'll text him to pick you up.

Marinette: Thanks, Alya.

Marinette smirked. She could, technically, text him herself, but she realized that Alya and Nino didn't realize she and Adrien were even on texting terms. Marinette began to worry for her friend. What if they break Alya? They'd only been gone a week. Her phone notified her of another text.

Adrien: Why did Alya text me to give you a ride to pick them up at the airport?

Marinette: Because she didn't realize I could do it.

Adrien: This is really weird.

Marinette: Tread lightly.

Adrien: This is really weird.

Marinette: Adrien. _Please_ pretend, for me.

Adrien: This is really weird. I'll pretend not to be completely smitten with my wife.

Marinette shivered. She was Adrien's wife. She was Adrien's wife. She was ADRIEN'S WIFE! She couldn't even prevent the sigh that escaped if she'd wanted to.

Marinette: You are going to make this extremely difficult.

Adrien: We're supposed to pretend to be engaged, right? Isn't that the same?

Marinette: No. We're going to pretend to be friendly and THEN let them know we're engaged.

Adrien: Then we can love on each other.

Marinette: Absolutely. ;)

* * *

Adrien had been feeling a bit funny ever since the dress fitting. Marinette seemed off, but he just chalked it up to the nerves of a wedding and that they were picking Alya and Nino...TODAY!

He rushed through his room, hastily pulling out a t-shirt, jeans, and throwing on his converses. There was a lot of sun coming in his room so he knew it was getting late; he'd be cutting it really close. The flight arrived at 12:30 so he really needed to get over to the bakery to get Marinette.

It was 11:00am when Adrien pulled up to the bakery.

"Mama, Papa, Adrien is here and we're going to pick up Alya and Nino."

"Have fun!" Sabine called after her.

Marinette ran out to the car and noticed Adrien was the one driving. She smiled, "This is new."

He smirked, "Don't."

She bit her top lip, "I wasn't going to say a word."

He shook his head, "You're never going to let me live that down." The most awkward, unexpected erection of his life.

"I didn't say a word," she chuckled, "Just go."

Adrien growled and drove off towards the airport. The entire way he couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself. He kept grabbing her hand, holding it, and focusing his fingers on the ring that sat on her third finger. He'd rub her knuckles, but always came back to massage the ring. Once he picked her hand up and kissed it.

"A symbol of my affection," he sighed.

Marinette pulled her hand away to look at the ring. She smiled, "It is very pretty, Adrien."

"So are you." He put his hand on her left thigh and squeezed, "I'm the luckiest man alive."

Marinette's heart beat quickened at his words. This was Adrien...same unattainable boy, Adrien, who she used to lose her head over. Every time he touched her, to this day, she still felt tingling all the way up her spine. She placed her hand on top of his and giggled, "I believe you are the unluckiest man alive, but we can always hope my good luck trumps your bad."

Marinette smiled to herself. Gabriel Agreste, prickly, distant, emotionally absent parent Gabriel Agreste, and she shared a secret. It wasn't a bad one, either. It was one for his son. One his son's MOTHER had clearly instructed them to keep. She still couldn't wrap her head around it. So much so, she was constantly keeping her tongue in the roof of her mouth to keep from talking...at all. Emilie Marquerite Agreste, or Marjorie to the hospital staff, was alive and they weren't telling Adrien.

 _"She vants to come to za wedding,"_ Gabriel had told her during the dress fitting; pins sticking out of his mouth as he gathered pieces of fabric together, " _She doesn't vant him stressed out before and she doesn't vant to steal your dunder."_

Marinette would MORE than gladly give up her thunder for Emilie to be the highlight of Adrien's day, but apparently she wouldn't hear of it. Instead, she'd be there waiting for him, in the front row, during their wedding...and hope he didn't notice? Yeah, Marinette knew how the wedding was going to go, but didn't have the heart to tell Emilie or Gabriel that it would derail the progress of the wedding. Although, honestly, she didn't care. She'd go along with this plan. The wedding was more a formality for their families, anyway.

* * *

They pulled up to Charles de Gaulle and Adrien ran his driving hand through his hair, "I'm nervous. Are you nervous?" He glanced over at Marinette, vibrating with nervous energy, "They're going to know. Alya's going to kill me."

"Adrien," Marinette looked him sternly in the eyes, "Chill. Of _course_ they're going to know. We're going to tell them, remember? I think we should have fun with this." Marinette had been hoping to get Alya back for all the times she'd pushed her in front of Adrien. It was time to mess with her.

When Alya left to go to Spain, with Nino and Nino's brother's friends, she was worried about Marinette. Adrien and Marinette didn't really know each other that well and the chances of them 'hanging out' fell into the 'slim to none' category. Just the idea would make Alya roll her eyes at how stupid she felt even entertaining the idea that Mari would have the guts to. This was the time for Marinette to get the last laugh. It was HER turn, HER time, and Alya was going to face the music.

* * *

The plane landed as they waited for their friends at the gate. Alya and Nino came bounding out. Alya had a dark tan, new dark sunglasses, and blonde highlights in her hair. They looked well rested and energized.

"My GIRL!" Alya exclaimed and threw her arms around Marinette.

"Bro!" Nino exclaimed, wrapping his hand around Adrien's and pulling him into a one armed hug.

"How was the vacation?" Adrien asked.

" _Amazing_!" Nino exclaimed, "It sucks you couldn't come."

"Yeah, some of us have a job," Adrien grimaced.

Nino glared at him, "Dude, I have a job." Adrien began to snicker. "Mine just isn't as strict as yours."

"I know, I know. Don't be so defensive. Geez, I'm messing with you."

"How was Spain, Alya?" Marinette asked, nonchalantly clasping her hands behind her back.

"Well, you know, after we got over that first hump it was awesome. I brought back some cool souvenirs, too." She pulled out her purse and smirked, "So, how was the ride to the airport...with Adrien."

"Nice," Marinette smiled, blushing.

"Nice? Is that all I get? What did you talk about? You did, talk, right? Please don't tell me you sat in silence the entire ride."

"No, we talked, Alya," as if on cue, Marinette's stomach rumbled. Oh, thank you stomach! Saved by the hunger, "Can we talk about this later. I'm starving!"

Alya chuckled, "Obviously. Yeah, girl, let's go grab some grub."

* * *

Alya linked arms with Marinette and led the way through the airport to find a place to eat.

"Okay, so...come on, girl, spill," Alya asked conspiratorially.

"What are you talking about?"

Alya glanced over at Nino who was chatting with Adrien about his brother's successful business and the wedding he DJ'd while they were out there.

"Girl, Nino and Adrien talk. You can't say nothing happened."

Marinette glared over at Adrien who shrugged an 'I don't know' as if he'd been listening to their conversation.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"GIRL! Don't do this to me. I know you and Adrien hung out."

"Yeah, we did."

"And..."

"And, we'll talk about this when we all find a place to eat. I'm starving!"

Alya chuckled, "All right."

They found a little gyro place. Alya and Nino stood in front of Marinette to order their food and then it was she and Adrien's turn. Alya noticed how Marinette let Adrien pay for their food.

"So...that's new," she smirked.

"He's just being nice," Marinette smiled.

They all sat to eat and a silence fell across them all. Alya was having none of that.

"Guys, you're killing me here!" Marinette and Adrien exchanged nervous glances and Alya shrieked, "Something happened? SOMETHING HAPPENED! Spill!"

Marinette cleared her throat and glanced over at Adrien. He was grinning unashamedly.

"Should we let her guess?" he asked Marinette.

"Yeah!" Marinette grinned, "Let's make her guess."

Alya grumbled and pursed her lips to the side, unamused, "You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" Then she sucked on her teeth, "Let's see...hmm. You went on a date?"

"Yes," Adrien and Marinette nodded enthusiastically.

"YEAH! I knew you guys would." Alya took a sip on her drink, "Okay, so I want details."

Adrien glanced to Marinette and their eyes widened. Um, what do they say? They hadn't rehearsed anything. The only real date they'd gone on wasn't one they could share. It was in the newspaper, sure, but they were Ladybug and Chat Noir for Pete's sake.

"Uh, well, it wasn't really a date date," Marinette blurted, "We just hung out. Watched movies, ate pizza...snuggled." She added as she glanced over at Adrien and blushed. He knew she was describing the first day of being husband and wife, but Alya wouldn't know that.

He recalled the memory and smiled. They'd woken up and he saw who she was; it was like the fates and given him the best present he'd never thought to ask for. Adrien hadn't even noticed that his eyes had met Marinette's; it was like time stood still again for a moment as they gazed lovingly at each other. They were both remembering that day. Their hands moved, on their own, to grasp each other's under the table.

"Whoa," Alya looked at Nino to see if he was seeing what she was seeing.

"DUDE!" Nino exclaimed, glancing from Marinette to Adrien and back again.

"You guys did it!" Alya exclaimed in a whispered shout.

Adrien and Marinette both flushed, but shook their heads.

"NO!" Marinette hissed, "We didn't."

"Th-th-th-tha-THAT was the look of love, Mari! You can't tell me you didn't."

"We haven't," Adrien was shaking his head.

"Dude, you guys are so sickeningly in love it's not even funny," Nino glanced at Alya, "I mean, I don't even look at Alya like that."

Alya scoffed, "Nope." Then she stared them down again, "There's something you're not telling us."

Adrien lifted his hand, with Marinette's clasped in it, to the table. His thumb was resting on the knuckle beneath a certain prominent new piece of jewelry adorning a very important finger.

Alya gasped and launched out of her seat, "NO...FUCKING...WAY!"

"Hot-damn," Nino exclaimed with extra emphasis on both words.

"YOU DID NOT!?" Alya ran around to the other side of the table and pulled Marinette up into a hug, "Holy shit! How? When? And don't you fucking **_dare_ ** leave anything out or I swear to God I will flail the living daylights out of the both of you." She pointed a menacing finger in both Adrien and Marinette's faces before grabbing her friend and squeezing again with a squeal.

"Enough with the F-bombs," Marinette whispered in her ear.

"Okay, okay, now talk..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had very busy days lately and no time to type. I did not do much editing when I moved this over from ffn. (Same pseud, except hyphen vs underscore)


	25. Organzanized

Marinette and Adrien did their best to fill in their best friends with the details of the past couple weeks. There were some very important details they couldn't share, obviously; getting married, being one, and that whole being the superheroes of Paris that they idolized thing, being the second. The rest of their time together they shared with a few things rearranged to fit a decently believable timeline. Their lack of erotic intimacy made it all the easier since they didn't have to lie.

"Okay, okay, dating I get," Alya nodded, "But engaged? How did this happen that fast? Jiminy Christmas, we were only gone for a couple weeks."

"Fate was pushed," Adrien mumbled, "I was betrothed to a family friend."

"DUDE! No way," Nino exclaimed, "You never told me that!"

Adrien leveled the most sarcastic stare he could fix that said 'you don't say,' "I didn't know. I was informed the day after graduation. It wasn't the best news I'd received so forgive me if I forgot to mention it." He fudged the date a touch and sighed, "I managed to talk my dad into an alternative option, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to do anything."

"Which is where I come in," Marinette chirped, "He and I ran into each other and decided to go out for ice cream. He casually mentioned he had to get married before the end of the summer and I, obviously appalled, told him I'd do whatever I could to help."

"We didn't even have a real date before she agreed," Adrien smirked at her and Marinette stuck her tongue out. He and she knew it wasn't because Marinette was head-over-heels for Adrien, because it had been Chat that proposed, but that didn't mean Adrien wasn't going to use her crush on him as an excuse.

"Turns out he had been interested in me, too, by the way," she glared at him, "which he had neglected to share."

Nino turned, shocked, "WHAT!? I'm your best friend and I'm feeling so betrayed right now. Ouch! Like, harsh, bro."

Adrien glanced away, cleared his throat, and tossed his head back to drink some water. He swallowed and hissed, "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. I just knew you liked her and I didn't want to cause any kind of hard feelings."

"So you decided to ask her to marry you? What an ass!?" Nino chuckled as he playfully slapped at Adrien who cringed away.

"Hey, now, I was desperate by that point," he grumbled, "And you had Alya."

"Desperate?! Ho-ho!" Marinette's eyebrow rose and she stared incredulously, "So you never would have asked me out otherwise...?"

Adrien put his face in both of his hands and groaned, "I can't win. I'm going to shut up now."

Alya patted his shoulder and cooed, "There, there. Poor Adrien has had a rough couple weeks. We ought to give him some space so he can get his head in the game. I need him to make a woman out of my girl here."

"ALYA!" Marinette gasped.

Alya shrugged unapologetically, "What? You already admitted you haven't gone bobbing for cherries, polished the knob, or pussy-hugged the hard-on. I'm just making sure you get what's _coming_ to you."

Adrien began to chuckle through his nervousness. They all stared at him as it devolved into hysterics. Alya's double entendre had him doubled over in laughter and dang near on the floor. His forehead caught Marinette's knee as he bowed down behind the table attempting to regain his composure.

"It wasn't that funny," Nino smirked, enjoying watching Adrien lose it.

Alya grinned, "You going to live there, Adrien? I think you need to breathe if you want to live."

Marinette was watching in horror to start, because this was definitely too much of his Chat-like side, but when her friends were entertained with Adrien's hysterics she decided they didn't suspect anything and allowed herself to giggle, as well. She gazed on in adoring amusement as he was incredibly adorable dissolved into giggling fits. She ran her fingers through his hair and he slowly stilled; small chuckles still coming in bursts for another few seconds.

He sat up and wiped his dripping eyes, "Sorry, sorry." He let out a high pitched sigh and laughed once more, "Anxiety."

"Anxiety?" Marinette glanced over at him.

"I, uh, I was uncomfortable," he cleared his throat and smirked.

"I'll show you uncomfortable," she threatened with a playful poke.

"Ewww, take it to the bedroom guys," Alya called, "Please, like right now."

Marinette glared, "Oh hush." Then she reached over to grab Adrien's hand and smiled sweetly, "We have plenty of time."

* * *

Alya and Nino waved Marinette and Adrien off. Marinette had another dress appointment with Adrien's father. They were rushing to get it done in time for their wedding.

"Is it just me or do you find it sort of odd how comfortable they are with each other?" Alya mused, snaking her arm around Nino's waist.

He threw his arm around her shoulders with a nod, "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Although, dude said he liked her for a while. I guess maybe they spent a lot of time together while we were gone."

Alya chewed on her lip before sighing, "Yeah, I guess you're right. It just seemed like there was more there than what someone could build in a couple weeks time, you know? Did you see how he just pulled out her chair for her and she reached out to grab his hand like they'd done this song and dance for years? I don't mean to sound jealous or anything, but we need to up our game. They're making us look bad."

Nino snickered, "Yup. Though, in my defense, Adrien's been raised to be a gentleman since he could tie his wing tips so..."

"Yeah," Alya nodded, "Maybe you're right. In my defense, Marinette's been working customer service since she could speak."

"Let's leave the public image nonesense to them," he turned to gaze at her and waggled his eyebrows, "I can think of something else we could practice where I'm sure we have them beat."

That was Alya's cue to grab Nino's collar and haul him after her into the townhouse, "Let's go."

* * *

Marinette and Adrien were in the sitting room at the Agreste Estate. She had another dress altering this afternoon with Mr. Agreste to finalize the shape. That would be the last Marinette would need to be seen until it was completed for final alterations.

Adrien had his arm wrapped around her shoulders while they sat on the couch drinking lemonade.

"My father came to visit me last night," Adrien smirked, "Said your dress fitting went wonderfully and then proceeded to tease me by encouraging me to ask questions he refused to answer."

Marinette burst out laughing, "I could see him doing that."

There was a hesitant pause before Adrien turned to face her, "Are you happy, Marinette?"

She jerked at such a speed to look at him that he almost spilled lemonade down his front. He decided to set it down on the side table.

"YES!" she exclaimed, as if it was the dumbest question she'd ever received. "Of course, I am." She paused shyly, "Are you?"

He held her face gingerly in the palms of his hands and gently ran his thumbs over her cheekbones, "Beyond happy-ecstatic! I was meaning about the wedding, mon cherie."

She blushed and leaned into his touch, "Yes. I am a little nervous, I'll admit, but I'm pretty excited, too."

"And you're not upset we postponed the honeymoon?" he bit his lip and averted his eyes.

Marinette giggled and pulled his face to hers so she could kiss him gently, "I love you. I'm ready to start this journey with you no matter what."

"I love you, too." They let their foreheads rest together, eyes gently closed, for a moment of peace. Adrien's head popped up and he checked his watch, "Well, I have to go meet Nino for some shopping of our own. I'd hate for you to be late, father detests waiting."

"I won't be late. I'm already here." She stood and smoothed the front of her skirt, "I'll let you and Nino get to your best-man bonding time."

He wrapped his arms around her and smiled to himself. This girl was the most amazing person on the planet and, for once, he felt like the luckiest person alive. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Absolutely," she nodded, "Have fun."

He kissed her forehead, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

With that, he walked out the front door and into the silver sedan he had waiting for him.

* * *

Marinette met with Gabriel in his studio. The dress was on the form. It had multiple layers of white lace and organza. The beading was done. There were a few sketches with shaping suggestions detailed out on a board behind it.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Her hands came up to her face as she tried to keep her emotions in check. It was one thing for your father-in-law to be a world renowned fashion designer. It was quite another to have him take time out of his busy schedule to personally design and create a dress for you, by hand. Marinette was overwhelmed. It was so different seeing it this complete.

Gabriel was beaming. It was an unusual look for him, but Marinette was thrilled to see it. He was wearing a smile much more often these days. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it!" she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his rib cage; it was as high as she could comfortably reach without jumping.

He stiffened under the embrace, but she didn't let go. Eventually, he wrapped his arms back around her and hummed contentedly, "I'm pleased. I just have a few more darts to place and it should be done until the final fitting."

Gabriel lifted the dress off the form and handed it to Marinette. She took it gently and ran to his study to slip into it. When she came back, Gabriel's eyes sparkled, "Absolutely lovely, Marinette." He swirled his finger to indicate he wanted her to twirl. She giggled as she spun happily.

She stood on the platform for a few minutes as Gabriel quickly pinched the fabric and pinned it. The overall shape of the bell of the skirt, and the bust, began to take shape. Marinette chuckled to herself as Gabriel adjusted the bust. She wondered what Adrien would think; his father touched her boobs before he did.

"Just about done," Gabriel sighed and wiped his brow. He'd been dedicating a lot of time making her dress, of that she was certain.

Her phone on Gabriel's desk began to ring. It was Adrien's ring tone. "I'll get it when we're through here," she smiled.

Gabriel pushed in the last pin and unzipped the dress for her to retreat to the study to change. She could hear her phone ringing again. Marinette hurried to throw on her clothes and walked the dress out to Gabriel.

"Hello, Adrien!" she answered cheerfully.

Gabriel slipped the dress over the form and nodded satisfactorily at how it was coming together. That was until he heard the cry behind him and saw Marinette's face pale.

"NO!" she screamed, "No, you must have made a mistake. I know this is his phone. Oh, no. Adrien..."

Gabriel took the hand out of her hand as she collapsed into a boneless heap against his desk. "This is Gabriel Agreste, Adrien's father."

"Mr. Agreste, there has been an accident. Your son has been taken to the Hopital des Quinze-Vingt. As I told his wife, he is in critical condition and we would ask his family to be here should any medical decisions need to be made on his behalf."

Gabriel Agreste, a man of trained demeanor, stood there stiffly, said "thank you," and hung up the phone. He turned to face Marinette, who was a blubbering mess in the floor, and slid down to sit next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and texted Arthur to bring the car around. "We're heading to the hospital as soon as possible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, so I'm officially caught up on AO3 to match my other account. I have one more chapter I hope to get out before I leave.
> 
> "See you in September. See you when the summer's through..."


	26. Sweet R-Elise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who read through first, I edited the $ to €. I can never find the € symbol as fast as the words are coming to me so usually go back and edit it later. Fixed!

The cacophony of sounds in the chaotic waiting room tore through Marinette's brain like a merciless rending machine.

"I gotta get out of here," she sighed and ran from the room leaving Gabriel to wait for news on Adrien's condition.

She retreated to stand beneath the red and white awning at the front of the hospital where the ambulances arrived with patients. She knew it was a bad idea, but she felt compelled to see how Adrien had arrived here. Within twenty minutes two had arrived. The first was a young man, around her age, that was for sure not going to make it. The EMTs had said as much as they wheeled him in wearing matching frowns. The other was an older man, perhaps 40s, who was a toss up. Her heart lurched as she could only see people coming in this way dying.

It was cool for a summer night. The swiftly sweeping breeze carried a hint of petrichor and ozone. Normally, it was Marinette's favorite scent, but tonight it was tainted with blood and gasoline.

"Oh, God," she cried. Her brain was foggy with 'what ifs.' She was so overwhelmed she wasn't aware she'd dropped bonelessly to the ground in a heap. Her face fell into her hands as the tremors tore through her body.

So lost in her own misery, she was oblivious to the figure that had appeared next to her. He dropped to the ground and draped an arm around her shoulders stiffly, "The doctor said he's out of danger."

Marinette turned to see, sitting next to her on the concrete in his gray, super 120, pattern-stitched lining, hand-stitched wool suit was Gabriel Agreste. Her breath hitched when she realized the fashion giant was sitting on the ground in a 6000€ suit. He didn't even bat an eye.

Her head lolled to the side as the relief spread through her like a warm blanket, "Thank heavens."

They sat there quietly a moment more before Gabriel whispered, "I knew, you know."

She quirked her face up at him in confusion, "Pardon?"

He smiled, "I knew it was you." She didn't roll her eyes, but wanted to. There was no way he could know. They hadn't even known. Although, she appreciated his attempts at distraction to ease her worry.

"How?" she wondered. She did not anticipate what came next.

"I'm not so sure anyone in this world loves my son like you do, Marinette. Not Nathalie, not myself, not even his mother. The incessant invitations to attend his graduation because you knew it would make him happy. The sachet you filled with my favorite old-fashioned cookies, embroidered with a gardenia, just to make a good impression and gain a few more moments with him. Stepping in, relieving him of a life of arranged sorrow, by agreeing to be his wife without proper preparation or complaint. Your devotion is astounding, ma chere. I do not believe I could find a better match if I searched all the books on all the shelves in all the libraries on earth. It is a truly beautiful thing to watch, you two learning and growing with each other. I feel honored to have the opportunity to witness it firsthand."

Marinette reached out and squeezed his hand, a tear dripping down her cheek, but a smile on her face, "I can see it. What Mrs. Agreste sees when she looks at you. If you hadn't gone into design you should have tried your hand at poetry."

Gabriel smiled genuinely before standing and offering her his hand, "We ought to go back in. They pulled some strings and managed to secure us an exclusive family lounge."

Marinette took it graciously and followed him back in through the double doors. The sounds of chatter crawled up her skin once more as they moved to follow a nurse.

"This way, Mr. Agreste," she smiled. They followed her through another set of double doors which cut off most of the sounds from the ER waiting room. She could breathe suddenly again.

Though she was technically a newly wed, she and Adrien had only just begun the dating process, really. This new facet of their relationship was all still fresh and new and raw; so much so, just being away from him made her want to cry. Now that he was in the hospital she feared more than anything that she'd lose him. They'd only just begun.

The room opened up into what was a little lounge. There were two couches, a table with four chairs, and a little drink station. The television in the upper corner of the room was showing the news. They had only sat down for a few moments when the news report of Adrien's accident appeared on the screen. Marinette didn't even know what all had happened, but she really didn't want to find out via television. Gabriel sensed as much and shut it off.

"We'll talk about it," he nodded. He had talked to the police about the accident, "Adrien wasn't driving. They said he was walking back to his car after delivering Nino to his place of residence. Adrien dodged out of the way, saving his life, but fell into a metro station entryway and tumbled down the stairs."

"Do they know what kind of damage?"

"It was a long fall," he sighed.

Just then, a doctor appeared, "M. and Mme. Agreste, I'm Dr. Renault."

"Dupain-Cheng," Marinette corrected with a palm to her chest. Technically, she was still Dupain-Cheng. She didn't know if she'd change her name yet or not.

"I apologize. Adrien is in stable condition now. He took quite the tumble. Witnesses say he fell nearly twenty feet and then rolled down the rest of the way."

Marinette couldn't help to blame his bad luck every time someone mentioned his falling into a metro station. What were the odds he'd be right there at the time a car swerved and that's the only place he could jump. At least he hadn't been hit or he would be dead.

"What is the damage?" she asked quietly.

The doctor flipped through his clipboard, "Lacerated liver, swollen spleen, a linear skull fracture, hairline fracture of the fifth cervical vertebrae, a mild concussion, and a punctured lung."

"Fractured cervical vertebrae," Gabriel asked, his eyes widened in horror, "Is he...?"

The doctor smiled genuinely this time, "Good news. All tests show he has no damage to his spinal cord; bruising or otherwise."

"Oh, thank you," Gabriel wiped his hand down his face and sighed.

"He also has a linear skull fracture of the left parietal. It appears to be very small. There was evidence of a minor concussion at the impact sight, but otherwise no other concerns. Intracranial pressure is within normal parameters."

Marinette gulped, "So he fell on his head. Is he conscious?"

"We administered a sedative when they first brought him in. He should be regaining consciousness shortly. I'm having him moved to a private room and you both can visit him there."

"Thank you, doctor." They shook the doctors hand and he left the room.

"I'm so relieved," Marinette sat down and dropped her face into her hands. Then she glanced up at Gabriel who was shifting nervously, "I think you should bring her to the hospital."

Gabriel was holding his chin in his hand as if in deep thought. "I was contemplating the same."

"Adrien needs his maman," she stated with certainty.

He smiled and nodded, "I completely agree. Though this will ruin the surprise for the wedding."

"I don't think anyone will mind, least of all Adrien." Marinette glanced down at her watch and smiled, "I will go head up to sit with Adrien while you go retrieve Emilie."

* * *

Marinette pushed open the door. She had pepped herself up before walking in, but now that she was here it felt unnecessary. Adrien wasn't in his room yet. The nurse was still prepping for his delivery.

"Hi, you must be Mr. Agreste's wife. I'm his nurse for this shift until 7:00, my name is Penelope; Penny for short. Just let me know if he needs anything. I'm just about done here and they'll be bringing him up shortly." Penny set up a monitor next to the bed and disinfected it a second time since Marinette had been there. At least she was thorough. She walked out of the room and left Marinette there to stew with her own thoughts.

She couldn't imagine what he'd look like. He'd probably have tubes and needles taped all over him. Her heart hurt for him. The one thing she was trying to remind herself is how thankful and grateful she was that he was alive and try not to dwell on how bad everything was. He would need her to be positive.

It was another twenty minutes before she heard the wheels squeaking in the hallway. A woman came into the room pulling a large IV stand, "Bonjour," she greeted.

"Bonjour," Marinette nodded.

"How are you?" The woman inquired making small talk.

"I've been better," Marinette sighed. She was afraid of seeing him, but knew he was just on the other side of that curtain. This was what she'd been psyching herself up for.

They wheeled the bed further and she saw his head peek through. A sob caught in her throat, but she was surprised it wasn't one of sadness. As soon as she saw his blonde hair, she was flooded with an overwhelming sense of relief. He was alive and he would recover. Her Chaton, her Adrien. He was going to be okay.

"Get out of my way! You can't keep me from seeing my son. Let me through!"

Marinette heard a woman's voice from out in the hall just before Emilie Agreste came barreling into the room.

"Marinette, thank goodness you're here. I was afraid he'd be all alone. Look at my handsome son," she leaned over him to run her fingers through his hair. Tears began pouring down her face and her hands shook with the contact. Sobs began to escape through her lips as she made a gentle fist in his hair, "I'm sorry I wasn't here, honey. Mama's here, baby." She picked up his hand and kissed it sweetly.

Right on her heels was a very tired looking Gabriel Agreste. He'd only been gone half an hour and yet he looked more bedraggled than before. Marinette asked him if anything was wrong, silently, with just her eyes. He rolled his and waved off her concern. Then he gestured with both his palms towards Emilie. Of course, Adrien's mother was a nervous wreck and probably frantically talked his ear off the entire way to the hospital.

"They just brought him in," Marinette stood to stand next to his bed, "They said he'll be waking up shortly."

"Thank goodness," Emilie cooed, "Gabriel told me the extent of his injuries. I do hope he doesn't take too long to wake."

Just then, Gabriel's phone rings. "Hello?" He holds a finger up to the rest of the room and excuses himself into the hallway. Marinette can just hear him say in an angered tone, "We are not discussing this right now," as he walked away.

Marinette glanced to Emilie to see if she knew what that phone call was about, but she was just as clueless as Marinette. At the moment, Emilie was completely lost in the chance to finally stroke her son's hair and gaze on his face in front of her.

"It's so nice to be able to touch and even smell him," his mom whispered. It made him more real to her. "I'd like it even more if he could talk to me and I could see his eyes. Gabriel says they are as green as mine." Emilie frowned sadly because she couldn't remember.

"Greener," Marinette smiled, "He has the most gorgeous green eyes I've ever seen."

"Quite smitten with him, are you?" she whispered.

Marinette nodded and leaned over to hold his other hand, "His heart is more beautiful than his eyes could ever be." It came out in a whisper.

"I'm so happy you found her, petit chou," Emilie pressed her knuckles gently to his cheek, "She is good for you."

"He's smart, too," Marinette nodded. His mother had missed out on so much in the past few years, "His mind is more brilliant than his smile, and that's saying something. He's the smartest person I know."

Emilie leaned forward to press her forehead against his, "Maman is so proud."

Gabriel entered the room once more, this time his jaw was tense and he looked like he could shoot bolts of fire from his eyes. "Marinette, may I speak to you privately?"

"Sure," she stood up and glanced nervously between he and Adrien.

"I'll stay with him, Marinette," Emilie whispered without taking her eyes off of her son's sleeping form.

Marinette shuffled out after Gabriel and he walked them to a small alcove at the end of the hall.

"That was a colleague of mine," he huffed, "The father of the girl Adrien is betrothed to."

"Was," Marinette corrected.

"No, is, technically," Gabriel sighed, "He called after seeing the news report. He and his daughter are en route to the hospital as we speak. Ostensibly, our agreement when they were children was not quite as I'd remembered. I guess we agreed on him to marry before her birthday or to marry Elise on her birthday. Her father is still insistent that until the day he is married his daughter will be here by his side and not a fake fiance." Gabriel groaned, "I realize that isn't what this is Marinette, but this man has been a family _friend_ for a very long time. He is being unreasonable. I will turn them away when they arrive, believe me."

"Thank you," she whispered shyly. Marinette bit her lip and looked back towards Adrien's room down the hall.

"You can go to him," Gabriel gestured that direction and Marinette returned.

"He isn't awake yet," Emilie smiled, "though he has been stirring."

Marinette hurriedly resumed her perch by his other side so she could be there when he opened his eyes. The sedatives were slowly working their way out of his system.

"You can't go in there!" Marinette heard the loud booming voice of Gabriel Agreste.

A large man, with a bushy mustache and slicked back black hair, marched into Adrien's room with Gabriel hot on his tail and a couple security guards. A young girl, with her nose buried in a cell phone, followed leisurely behind.

"He is Elise's fiance," Mr. Chanteclaire exclaimed, "She has every right to see him."

As they burst into the room, all eyes met Emilie's. Bernard's eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost, "Emilie!" he gaped. Then he took a step back and coughed into his hand, "I d-didn't know you were back."

"I never should have left," she whispered sadly. They weren't going to share the circumstances of Emilie's disappearance just yet. This was technically her first outing in public.

Marinette glanced at the girl that walked in behind Mr. Chanteclaire. She was more interested in her cellular device than anything. She could see just how concerned the girl was about the state of Adrien's health.

As if on cue, Adrien's eyes fluttered open and they found Marinette's. He tried to smile up at her around the oxygen mask, and she could tell.

"I love you," she whispered and leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"Now, now, missy," Mr. Chanteclaire erupted and took a step towards her. Gabriel placed his hand firmly in the middle of Mr. Chanteclaire's chest, effectively stopping his forward motion. "Look here, Gabriel."

Adrien's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced around at everyone in the room in confusion. His eyes landed on his mother. She leaned forward to run her fingers through his hair. Silent tears were dripping down the sides of Adrien's face and Emilie wasn't doing much better, "I'm not going anywhere, moppet."

"Calm down, Adrien," Gabriel sighed as they heard the heart rate monitor start to pick up. "They'll kick us all out. We need to have a discussion about this."

Adrien tried to calm, but the tears were still pooling. He pulled his mother's and Marinette's hands together to rest them over his heart as if he was saying 'I love you.'

Penelope entered the room and smiled, "I see he's awake! Wonderful." She didn't appear too concerned with his heart rate as it was returning to normal. "Let me know if he needs anything and I'll go tell the doctor he's awake."

"There is nothing to discuss. Elise and Adrien are engaged to be married. Please, remove this _girl_ from his bedside at once," Bernard growled.

It was Emilie's turn, "Bernard, I will not pretend that I have ever liked this arrangement. I don't even know why we even agreed to this."

Both men grimaced. It was during a spat, a competition of how wonderful their own child was, they decided they would be perfect for each other. They gave Elise until her twenty-fourth birthday because Bernard wanted her to have ample time for children.

"And I don't care," Emilie continued, "What I _do_ know, as sure as I am sitting here, is that Marinette loves Adrien."

"Ahh!" Bernard broke in, "But does Adrien love Marinette?"

There was an instant flailing from the bed. Adrien was pulling on his face mask to remove it. Marinette grabbed his hands and shushed him sweetly.

"That is a very obvious yes," Gabriel stated to which Bernard frowned.

"Elise, come over here. He just hasn't seen you in a long time. We all know how lonely your son was, Gabriel. He hasn't had many opportunities," he leered over at Marinette to imply she was just one of the few options he had to pick from and that if he were given the opportunity to see Elise he'd be instantly smitten.

Elise frowned, "I don't want to, daddy."

"Bitty bumpkins, come," he cooed, "Look on your future husband. Don't you find him attractive?"

She smiled and walked over to the side of Adrien's bed. She waggled her fingers at him and plastered an uncomfortable, albeit friendly, smile on her face, "Hi, Adrien."

He tried to wave with his fingers, but Marinette held his hand tightly.

"Daddy," she turned to her father, "He loves...what was your name?"

"Marinette," she supplied.

Elise nodded and repeated, "He loves Marinette."

"Honey bear," her father approached, "You two _are_ getting married. I don't want to hear another word about this. You will love each other, eventually."

"Yes, father," Elise rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair next to Emilie and pulled out her cell phone.

Gabriel was having none of this, "This isn't right, Bernard. They should all have a say in this." Then he glanced down at his shoes and spit out the words that hurt much more than he'd care to admit, "We were wrong."

"No," Bernard boomed, "We will not back down."

At this point, Adrien jerked his hand out of Marinette's and pulled the mask off his face. "I'm married," he croaked.

There was a collective silence around the room.

"Pardon?" One of Gabriel's eyebrows shot up to the ceiling in disbelief. "Would you care to repeat that?"

"Marinette?" Adrien pleaded for her to explain.

"U-um, you sure?" she glanced over to Adrien and saw his head nod minutely, "Yes. Okay. Adrien and I are already married."

Emilie gasped and clasped her hands over her face, but hummed excitedly.

"We are still having a wedding. Adrien has always wanted one, and we'd like to be able to share this moment with our family and friends, but we were really too impatient to wait." She glanced over to Adrien who seemed to be unperturbed with telling everyone. Marinette just hoped none of this made it into the news, got back to her parents, or made it to Alya or she'd have a lot of explaining to do. That fear aside, if this helped Adrien get out of this nightmare predicament she was willing to face the consequences.

"I don't believe you," Bernard glared.

Gabriel was wearing a self-satisfied smirk, "I believe he's asking for proof, Marinette." Gabriel knew it was the truth as much as he knew Marinette hated lies. He could see how she'd about had a fit keeping the secret of Adrien's mother from him over the past few days.

"I have it, at home," she said, "I can bring it straight away."

"Take the car," Gabriel bowed his head gently. The smug smirk just refused to yield.

"Yes, sir," Marinette stood and placed one parting kiss on Adrien's forehead, "I'll be right back. I love you." Then she ran out of the room.

"Well, it appears they have beat you at your own game," Gabriel grinned.

Elise put her phone into her lap and leaned forward to talk to Adrien. It was private enough that only Emilie could overhear. "Congratulations," she smiled. Then she retrieved the cell phone and pulled up a picture for him to see, "I'm very happy for you. See this girl? That's Ava. We've been together for four years, but shhh, don't tell daddy."

Adrien grinned softly up at her, his mask back in place, but he mouthed, "Congratulations" and gave a thumbs up.

"He'd flip," she rolled her eyes, "I don't care." She stared at him a moment before she sighed, "Thank you, Adrien." His brows furrowed in confusion. "For getting married," she giggled, "I'm free to love whoever I want," she gestured to the phone, "and daddy doesn't have to be happy about it."

Adrien lifted his hand to give her another, slower thumbs up. Then his eyes fluttered shut.

"He's tired." Emilie looked on in adoration as Adrien let himself drift back into sleep. "Sleep, bebe, it's been a hectic day."

"I'll say," Gabriel scoffed. He'd clasped his hands behind his back and resumed his power stance. Gabriel doesn't take crap from anybody; especially not pompous fellow aristocrats. The line was drawn and Chanteclaire would do well not to cross it.

Bernard stormed towards the door and jerked back to face Gabriel, "You can fax that marriage certificate to my office. It had better not be a phony or you'll be seeing me again soon. Come, Elise."

Gabriel scoffed in irritation. It was supposed to be a threat, but he was not intimidated. Irritated, yes, intimidated, no.

Elise quickly scurried after her father and smiled at Emilie and Gabriel, "I really hope Adrien can go home soon."

"Thank you, Elise. That's very sweet of you," Emilie replied.

Gabriel merely nodded as she rushed out into the hall after her swiftly retreating father.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter until Sept. at the earliest. Thank you for your patience!


	27. Papa-llon

Adrien spent the first week of his six week sentence, aka six weeks of no rigorous activity, in the hospital. He’d be on the mend, read down, for the next five. He had no idea how this would work with his obligations to Paris as Chat Noir. It wasn’t like he could transform. Plagg told him he flat out refused to help.

Marinette stayed with him every day. Emilie came to visit him every day, too. Gabriel was keeping his usual distance. This day, Emilie came in to visit Adrien, she found Marinette curled up, asleep, on the couch in his room.

“She’s a wonderful girl, mon petite,” she smiled and sat down next to Adrien’s bed, “You have done well.”

He gazed on his softly slumbering wife and nodded, “Yeah, I did.” To Adrien there was no one more beautiful in all the world than the woman snuggled up on the sofa in his hospital room. She’d been by his side throughout the entire ordeal; always supportive and encouraging. They had discussed his post-care options with the doctor and agreed on the course of action together.

Adrien had only one request which he would have to clear with his father before telling Marinette.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she pressed a kiss to his temple.

Adrien sighed. He was still in a dream state when his mother was there. He wasn’t used to her presence, nor did he ever hope to be. Each kiss and smile was precious, after going so long without, never knowing if he’d get to experience her again.

“Wonderful,” he grinned happily. The drugs helped, too. “There’s some tightness in my chest and I have some aches when I move around.”

“That’s wonderful?” Her eyebrow rose before she chuckled, “I hope never to see you doing poorly then.”

They sat there in pleasant silence for a while. Emilie pulled out a tablet Gabriel had bought her. She’d been catching up on the world since she’d been institutionalized. He’d purchased it for her a couple months ago, when he first discovered she was there, and had been catching up on current events since then.

Lately, she’d been trying to catch up with the fashion industry. Since being home with Gabriel, she’d been barraged with constant input from her overly enthusiastic husband. His eyes would light up as he tried to explain to her all she missed, all she should be glad to have missed, and what all was happening now. It was a lot to take in so she’d let him prattle on and make notes of the buzz words he threw out at her to research later. Emilie was bright, she was, but there was only so much she could retain from her expert husband.

“Learning anything fun?” Adrien asked as he glanced over at her scanning the tablet.

She smirked, “Perhaps. Your father hasn’t shut up since I’ve been home. I need to catch up.” She flashed the tablet his direction and he could see it was talking about the growing popularity of old calico prints.

Adrien burst out laughing, “He’s making you research, too?”

She shook her head, “He couldn’t make me do anything. I’m just hoping to be able to follow a conversation with him. How did you do it?”

Adrien frowned, “Father and I don’t really talk.”

Emilie nodded sadly and bit her lip, "I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "It is what it is. He wasn't the same when you went away. What happened, mom?"

Emilie sighed heavily, "It was a culmination of a lot of things. I wasn't happy. It wasn't your father's fault, it was mine, and I overreacted."

"How did you end up in that place he found you?"

"Well, it all happened very similarly to how you ended up here. I was out taking a breather, trying to determine where I wanted to be and who I was...soul-searching. I was careless as I stepped over the rail of the bridge I found myself walking along. It happened quick. I was climbing back over, lost my balance, and fell into the Seine."

"What?!?! What happened?"

"An older man pulled me to the shore. I was still in a bad place, Adrien, and I couldn't go back and face your father."

"I don't understand how this has to do with why you were gone for so long!" he exclaimed.

"It wasn't by choice, honey. Once you get put in one of those places you can't just walk out. I knew I couldn't use my real name, which made finding me more difficult. I didn't want any bad publicity coming back to hurt Gabriel. I just had to wait until he found me. I was told it would only be a couple months before he was informed; which turned into years. It really didn't go as planned."

"Could you explain what happened?"

Emilie glanced nervously over at a sleeping Marinette and dropped her face into her hands, "I don't know, honey. There's a lot of things you wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he ground out.

Emilie glanced around and leaned forward to whisper, "You know Chat Noir and Ladybug?"

"Yes...?"

"Well, they have a piece of jewelry that gives them powers. Have you heard of those?"

"Their miraculouses?"

"Oh, good, you know!" she smiled, "Yes. Their miraculouses. Well...I have, had, one."

Adrien gasped and Marinette jumped up off of the couch, concerned. She ran over to Adrien, "Are you okay? What hurts? Do I need to call a nurse?"

He smiled sheepishly up at her and pulled her close to him, "No, no, I'm fine. Uh, you might want to be here for this."

Emilie's eyes widened, "Honey, I'm not so sure--"

"Just trust me, mom," he whispered, "She needs to hear it."

"Okay," she acquiesced, "I was just telling Adrien I had a special piece of jewelry."

"My mom had a miraculous."

Marinette's eyes widened, "You did?!"

"Yes," Emilie bit her lip and looked away, "I don't want that getting out or spread around. Really, none of this can leave this room."

"Did dad know?" Adrien couldn't help himself. His dad had to know. You couldn't be married to someone that long without knowing something like that.

"Yes," she nodded, "I need you both to just listen, though, if I am to finish my story."

They both nodded and apologized for their interruptions. Marinette sat next to Adrien and curled into his side. He wrapped an arm around her and coaxed her head down to his shoulder so they could listen.

"It was a peacock miraculous. It gave me the power to charm people. I was very good with it," she blushed, "I was sure it was how I got your father. He was the only man I'd ever fallen for and I wanted him to love me back."

Marinette glanced over at Adrien and they shared a knowing smile.

"I decided, after years of marriage, that I wanted him to love the real me. I confessed I had a miraculous and he told me he knew. I was shocked, you can believe, and I was insulted he'd never told me he knew. I felt betrayed, actually. Here I thought I was going to be the one betraying him and it blew up in my face. I didn't know how to feel. I thrust the miraculous into his hands and told him I never wanted to see it again. I fell into a despair and withdrew. I admit, it wasn't my shining moment. Gabriel was patient with me. He kept trying to tell me he didn't care that I had the miraculous and that it didn't have any power over him. I didn't believe him." She smirked ruefully, "I really should have believed him now, in retrospect. I should have recognized him, he was my partner, after all. Of course the butterfly miraculous can't be swayed by the peacock."

Marinette flew up out of Adrien's arms and he spluttered incoherently.

Emilie Agreste covered her mouth as her eyes widened, "Oh, shoot. I wasn't supposed to tell you. That was your father's secret to tell."

Adrien's face turned puce. "FATHER IS HAWKMOTH!?!?!" His heart monitor started to beep erratically and a nurse ran in.

"Sir, I need you to calm down or I will have to sedate you. Sir? Sir."

Marinette was running her fingers through his hair, leaning into whisper in his ear, "Adrien, calm down. I know it was a shock, but you need answers. **We** need answers. Please, kitty?" Adrien nodded and his breathing evened out. His heart beat settled soon after.

The nurse excused herself and asked the visitors not to upset him.

Emilie was watching, concerned, "I didn't realize that would receive such a reaction. I'm kind of glad I told you and not Gabriel."

Adrien trembled next to Marinette. She could feel him trying to contain his emotions. Her hand found his and she squeezed it reassuringly.

"He feels really awful about it. He did it for both of us, honey. He was just trying to find me. He didn't know where I'd gone and he automatically assumed the worst, that I was dead. The only way you can bring someone back from that, or even find them, is to combine the cat and the ladybug miraculouses. He needed them to be activated so he started releasing evil akumas." She silently admired how brilliant Gabriel was; though, unconventional. "You see, that is why I was stuck in that place for so long. He started releasing akumas, and he forced the hand of the man, who brought me to the asylum, to activate the other miraculouses to save the city. Your father wasted no time; always efficient. I mean, it all really went down hill and snowballed from there. Gabriel was beside himself with grief, irrational, and withdrew from you. Master Fu did everything he could to protect the city, but he knew he couldn't approach Gabriel when he was in such a hostile state and unable to transform to protect himself."

Adrien looked over to Marinette. All he saw there was compassion and understanding even though she wore a sad frown.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien, that this all happened to you," Emilie whispered as she reached out to hold his hand. "I understand if you are angry. I mean, who would expect their parents to be the reason an entire city is terrorized? Gabriel has been in a self-deprecating funk since I got back. He hasn't sketched a single design and Nathalie is worried he'll never recover. He's wracked with guilt over what he's done and how he gave up on you, Adrien. I realize he hurt you."

Adrien nodded and a tear rolled down his cheek, "He did."

"That's why he's giving you space, you know. Every time you reminded him of me, or asked questions, he said it only made everything worse. It was hard for him to look at you without seeing his failures as a husband and father. We've been talking about it and trying to fix things. I'm not trying to make excuses. It is what it is and you had a right to know. We really made a mess, huh?"

Adrien was openly crying now. Marinette reached over and pulled his head to her chest.

"I think he'll be okay," Marinette whispered, "We'll get through this, Adrien."

"This sucks," he blubbered.

"I agree," Marinette nodded. "Do you think we should let them know...you know?"

"Not right now," he shook his head, "Mom, could we have a minute?"

"Sure, honey. I'll see you tomorrow," she gave his hand another squeeze, followed by a soft kiss, and excused herself from the room.

Marinette placed both her hands on his cheeks and lifted his face to meet hers, "I love you, Adrien Agreste." She placed a sweet kiss on his lips. "I love all of you; your warped sense of timing, your awful jokes, your beautiful green eyes and golden locks, your dysfunctional family drama, even your dysfunctional family...I love it all. You and I will get through this. You have parents who love you. I admit, they had a funny way of going about it, and showing it, but I will be here to support you with whatever you want to do, okay?"

He gave her a watery smile, "How did I end up being the lucky one?"

She nudged his nose with her own, "I'm the lucky one here, goof. You just fell in love with the luck bug who happened to be madly in love with you."

"I don't know how to feel right now, Marinette...angry, shocked, sad..." As if in response to that statement, a couple more hot tears dripped out of the corners of his eyes, "I just feel torn up inside."

Marinette squeezed him to her again in response, "I'll help stitch you back together, minou."

"I want to fix it," he whispered. "My relationship with my parents. I want to get past this."

Marinette closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to his own, "I was really hoping you'd say that."

When he smiled up at her she couldn't keep the reciprocal one off of her face. They were going to be okay. They all were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WILL shed light on this after. Gabriel was there, when he got injured, but is noticeably absent now. Why? He feels guilty that he wasn't there for him before and doesn't have a right to be there now. He hoped Emilie would be able to nurture him in a way he couldn't while she was gone.  
> **Well, it might not have gone as planned, but it'll be okay. I promise.
> 
> Gabriel will have a chance to speak for himself in the next one.  
> **He had been working towards fixing his relationship with Adrien, little by little. (One step forward, two steps back.) Sharing secrets with his 'fiance,' making her dress, giving him space to do his own thing, etc. Emilie drops the dang butterfly...well, hell.
> 
> ALSO: Emilie. The reason she slipped up and doesn't appear to have much tact is because she no longer has her miraculous to charm people. Before, she never had to perfect her people skills because she had them thanks to the miraculous, but now that she is without it she just has her own social skills; which she hasn't worked at honing for twenty or so years. Needless to say, she's a little rusty and things sort of slip out. Oops. Sorry, Gabriel. It is a handicap that Adrien should understand and relate to. ;)


	28. Purr-anning

The day following Celine’s slip about Gabriel, and his butterfly miraculous, was tense.

When Emilie confessed to Gabriel over breakfast that she’d let it slip. He didn’t get angry. In fact, most would assume Gabriel was a bombastic, aggressive, hot-tempered man. It just wasn’t true. The most unnerving thing about him was his composure. When he lost his temper it was a good sign.

This time, he just stared at her and shook his head sadly. He pushed his glasses on top of his head and rubbed his eyes. Gabriel stiffened when the arms of his wife came to wrap around his middle.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I didn’t mean to. It slipped.”

“How did they take it?” he asked, afraid of the answer. He knew there was a chance this would happen. She'd never really had a lot of 'tact'; especially less so without her miraculous.

Emilie cocked an eyebrow, “How do you think they took it, Gabe? They were shocked.”

 _Merde._ “And…?”

She shrugged against him, “I explained the situation, to the best of my ability." 

He tensed. That had a distinct possibility, high probability, of only making it worse. Remember her lack of tact?

"From my side!" she elaborated to soften his nerves, "I tried to tell them what you told me. They both seemed to calm down after, but Adrien was still understandably upset.”

“I have to talk to him.” Gabriel shook his head and pushed away from Emilie. He had to go and do some damage control, assess the situation, and figure out what all had been said and how much work would be necessary to fix it. He grabbed his overcoat and rushed towards the door.

Emilie followed and frowned, “I don’t think that is such a good idea.”

“I need to talk to my son,” he sighed heavily. It was the only option he could see working and he was going to do it.

* * *

Marinette and Adrien woke up the next morning, she was still nestled next to him in his hospital bed.

“Good morning,” she greeted as she ran her palm across his chest. He was silent and brooding already and the day hadn’t even really started yet.

“Morning,” he replied gruffly.

He hadn’t had much sleep. Marinette could feel him jolt awake a few times. Then there was some whimpering. She’d soothed him and tried to help coax him into a more productive sleep.

“How are you feeling?”

He shrugged.

“That bad, huh?”

“Not physically, Marinette. I’m feeling a lot better, actually.”

“Maybe they’ll let you go home today!”

He frowned. That reminded him of how his plans were falling apart. He had planned to talk to his father, but now…?

“I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders to act like he didn’t care. He did.

Marinette leaned her head on his shoulder, “Adrien, you can talk to me.”

He nodded and swallowed thickly. “You know? Part of me knew, I think,” he shook his head sadly, “I don’t know why, but I’m not even that upset that he terrorized Paris. Everything was fixed, the akuma victims don’t seem too traumatized, and the citizens of Paris aren’t constantly cowering in fear because they trust we’ll fix it.” He frowned, “I know that’s wrong, that I don’t feel angry about it.”

“It’s not wrong, Adrien,” she placed a hand over the top of his own.

He let out a shuddering breath and a tear dripped down his cheek. He wiped it away and sniffed, “He disappeared, bug. He left me, so he could terrorize Paris, to inevitably hurt me!”

“He didn’t know,” she shook her head.

“He still doesn’t know. Do you know how much that hurts? To know your father would rather go to such extremes, for someone that isn’t even here, instead of spend time with you?”

The dam broke and he shook with sobs. They forced themselves out of an unwilling host with tight, high pitched whines followed by bouts of coarse, raspy bawling. His body shook with each unbidden cry. The emotion took over as he turned to bury his face in Marinette’s neck while he broke.

“He does love you, Adrien, but he really sucks at showing it.”

He scoffed at that and nodded, “Yeah he does.”

She held him while he calmed down, cooing sweet words of ‘I love you,’ ‘I’m here,’ and ‘we’ll get through this together.’

They hadn’t heard the visitor that perched outside the door. Gabriel Agreste planned to talk to his son, but when he arrived they were talking. Then he watched, ashamed of himself, as his son broke down in his young wife’s arms. This was his mess and he would have to atone for it.

He took a seat in one of the chairs just outside Adrien’s door and waited for him to calm down. Silent tears dripped down Gabriel’s face as he listened to his son in turmoil. It was all his fault.

“I want him to want to spend time with me, you know?” Adrien said as he leaned back away from Marinette. His eyes were swollen and red, his cheeks blotchy, and there were tear tracks all down his face.

Marinette retrieved the tissue box from behind her and handed it to Adrien. He graciously accepted and blew his nose.

“It wasn’t that he didn’t spend any time with me,” he sighed, “It’s just that every time he did, he acted like I was an inconvenience. I was a waste of time.”

Marinette just sat and listened. Unbeknownst to them both, so did Gabriel.

“Is it that hard to love your kid? Am I that unlovable?” Another tear slid down his cheek.

Marinette wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hushed him, “Sshhh, no, you are the _most_ lovable person I know, and I’m not just saying that. I don’t know of anyone more perfect, more worthy of my devotion, Adrien. I’m not saying we won’t argue or fight, and have our own misunderstandings, but I will always love you regardless of the bumps in the road. As far as your dad? I’m going to have to let Gabriel speak for himself,” she glanced up to the door where a shadow had appeared again. He peeked into the room and Marinette gave him a remorseful smile.

Gabriel took a tentative step into the room and cleared his throat. Adrien’s head jerked up and his entire body went stiff as he quickly wiped away the tears under his eyes. Marinette felt the change in him immediately and frowned. They had a lot of work to do.

“I’m going to go get us something to drink and talk to the nurse about trying to get you discharged.”

He nodded, “Okay.”

She leaned down to place a soft kiss to his forehead and whispered, “I will be right back and outside if you need me. Okay?” He nodded and gave her a gracious smile when she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Then Marinette did something he didn’t expect. She walked over to Gabriel and embraced him. His father stiffened at first, reluctant, before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders to return the hug.

Adrien took a minute to let that sink in and he felt like he was in the twilight zone. His wife walked right up and hugged his father. His father who was cold, distant, harsh, and demanding. His father who was Hawkmoth. In that moment, he realized his wife was the bravest, boldest, most courageous person he knew; including himself. ‘ **And though she be but little, she is fierce.** ’

His father had never looked so tangible and so fragile to him before. It was like seeing him in a new, humanizing light. Right then, Adrien realized he might have some work, on his part, to do, too. He had put his father on a pedestal and spent the last five years, fruitlessly, trying to reach him. It wasn’t fair to himself, it wasn’t fair to his father, and he was finally seeing the damage this thinking could do to relationships. It was a vicious cycle that snowballed into distance, detachment, and resentment.

Then there was the paradox that was Ladybug hugging Hawkmoth in his hospital room. Not that anyone other than Ladybug would understand the significance of this. Adrien felt his heart swell with the honor of bearing witness. She was truly amazing and she was his.

Marinette turned with a sly grin afterwards, blew a parting kiss, and flashed him two thumbs up.

Gabriel stood there for a silent, dazed second, before turning to meet Adrien’s eyes.

“Adrien.”

“Father.”

Gabriel took a step towards his bedside and pulled up a seat, “May I sit?” Adrien nodded.

The silence was awkward. Gabriel couldn’t handle it anymore. He needed to fix this now.

“How are you feeling?” he blurted. It was choppy and forced, but the silence had been eerily deafening prior. This was worth a shot.

Adrien scoffed, “Physically? Or Mentally?”

Gabriel nodded. He deserved that bite. “Both.”

“Well, physically, I think they’re going to discharge me either this afternoon or tomorrow.” The doctors had all been shocked at how fast he'd healed from his injuries. They had planned to release him now, but they hadn't expected him to be as healthy as he was. The hospital protocol wouldn't allow them to release him any earlier.

Gabriel smiled genuinely. He was glad to hear Adrien was doing well. “That is wonderful.”

Adrien grimaced, “Yeah, I suppose.”

The smile dropped off the elder Agreste’s face. “Do you want me to find alternate accommodations…?” _Considering, with recent revelations, it might be awkward living under the same roof._

“I was actually meaning to talk about that,” Adrien whispered. His father not-so-obviously deflated. “Do you remember that Brownstone apartment building you use for visiting clients?”

“Yes,” he nodded, listening intently and trying to find out what that had to do with anything.

“Is there any way I could move into the smaller penthouse apartment on the top floor?”

“The Brownstone?” Gabriel wondered aloud. His eyebrows were furrowed with confusion. Why would Adrien want to move there? The building had no permanent resident, and was mostly empty throughout the year. “I suppose...”

“Marinette and I spent the first night of our marriage there, in that apartment, and it is kind of a special place to us now.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. He still wasn't sure how the whole marriage went down, and he hadn't heard Marinette referred to as his wife since they'd confessed, so this was a bit of a baffling thought. First night as husband and wife also held some other meaning. Was she perhaps pregnant?

“Not like that,” Adrien held his hands out, “We aren’t…it’s not…it’s complicated.”

Gabriel’s lips twitched in amusement and held his hand up to stop his spluttering, “No need to explain. I’ll tell Nathalie to have Arthur deliver the key to you.”

“Thank you.” Adrien bowed his head shyly; grateful there wasn’t more interrogation as to how they’d gotten into the apartment in the first place.

“Adrien,” Gabriel reached forward and laid a warm hand on Adrien’s forearm. Adrien flinched, but Gabriel didn’t let go, “I’m sorry, for everything.”

Adrien gulped and nodded as he glanced away. His eyes were stinging with the tell tale tears approaching, again. He felt so vulnerable when he cried and he hated it.

“I should have been there for you,” he continued. “I’m not going to make excuses. I had my reasons, but none of them are sufficient to justify my actions. It wasn’t fair and I will do whatever you want me to. If you want me to turn myself in, I will do it. If you want me to never talk to you again, hard as that might be, I would do it. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

There was a long pause where Gabriel felt like the air was slowly being sucked out of the room.

Adrien huffed, “I don’t want you to go away. I’ve never wanted more distance, father. That is the opposite of what I want.”

“What do you want then?” he pleaded. Gabriel was quite literally a breath away from begging.

“I want you to want me.” His voice broke, “I want you to want to spend time with and get to know me, to get to know Marinette. I want you to listen when I talk to you and really hear what I’m saying. I want you to take into consideration how I feel and let me know how you are feeling. We have to share these things with each other like normal people.”

Gabriel chuckled and Adrien glared over at him.

“I apologize, Adrien, but we will never be _normal._ ” His lips were still quirking upwards at the side as he tried to restrain his amusement.

Adrien rolled his eyes and allowed himself a small smile as well, “Like this.” He gestured between the two of them. They were bantering already. “You know what I mean. We should be able to talk without all the formality. I don’t want to be spoken to like a subservient and I don’t want to converse with you like an employer. You’re my father. It’s not fair.”

Gabriel nodded and swallowed. “I understand.”

“I want to call you dad.”

“Done,” Gabriel quickly agreed.

“And I want to exchange jokes like we used to. I don’t want to get in trouble for sarcasm.”

Gabriel dropped a brow, “Adrien.”

They’d had some ‘issues’ with his petulent teenage attitude in the past. Gabriel was still his father, after all, and had to be expected to act as such.

Adrien chuckled, “I had to try, right?”

Gabriel smirked back at him. Of course he’d try. They were related, after all.

They were joking with each other and Adrien could almost feel his walls dropping. The veil that had obscured his father’s emotions was nearly gone as well. They would be all right. Eventually. It wasn’t like he hadn’t kept some secrets of his own which would have to be addressed. Oh, boy, wouldn’t that be a fun conversation?

Adrien dropped his hand to cover his fathers, where it lingered on his arm, “We’ll be okay, dad.”

As if he’d spoken the magic words, Gabriel leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Adrien’s lithe frame. Adrien could feel his father’s body shaking like a leaf as he succumbed to the relief he felt. Though Adrien hadn’t said ‘I forgive you’ the implication was there. It was more than Gabriel could have hoped for and he was overwhelmed.

* * *

Marinette walked back into the room after the talking resumed. They were exchanging former fashion show stories and their own perspectives to the situations. Adrien was in tears, but tears of laughter, as she walked in with the cups of coffee.

“Did I miss something?”  
Adrien held his hand up through his hysterical laughter. He cackled uproariously and couldn’t make a coherent sentence. His giggles were contagious and Marinette found herself chuckling along with him; her heart swelling at the scene.

“What is it?” She turned to Gabriel, who was also clutching his side, and wiping at his eyes under his glasses.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing. We were just reminiscing of the early days when Adrien first started modeling for me." Gabriel's eyes lit up and he about came out of his chair in excitement, "Oooh! I remember another one. We had a wardrobe malfunction in the spring of 2015. Adrien was barely old enough to walk the runway,” Gabriel started laughing again in anticipation.

Adrien glared at his dad. He knew where this was going. It was one of _those_ stories.

“A model was standing in front of him, her dress hiked up in the back.”

Adrien squealed in embarrassment and exclaimed, “She was wearing a g-string!!!”

Marinette glanced between the two. Gabriel was in stitches. It was something she thought him incapable of before.

“Seams, Adrien,” he stressed, “You can’t have them showing. You’re lucky she wore anything at all.”

“What happened?” Marinette asked.

Adrien blushed scarlet.

“Adrien approached, tapped her on the shoulder, and notified her of her malfunction. She turned to the mirror,” Gabriel began to snicker, “Flipped the dress down and said thank you. I believe she blew you a kiss,” he pointed at Adrien.

Adrien slouched down into the mattress.

Marinette didn’t understand what was so funny. She glanced from Adrien, to Gabriel, and back, waiting for one of them to explain.

“I don’t get it. Why is that so funny?” she asked.

“Adrien?” Gabriel was bent over, his mouth in his hands, as his eyes sparkled with mirth.

Gabriel was enjoying himself and spending this time with Adrien. Adrien was very obviously doing the same. Marinette noted Gabriel’s playful posture and Adrien’s eyes were sparkling, belying his sulky demeanor. She felt the warmth radiating through her and smiled.

“Care to explain to your _wife_ what is so funny?”

“No,” he grunted and crossed his arms with a huff.

Gabriel clapped his hands together and grinned up at Marinette, “Adrien had never seen a g-string before. He came to me, horrified, that a model was going to walk the runway with a string up her…ahem.” Gabriel snickered some more, “I had his mother explain to him what was going on.”

“How brave of you,” Marinette cocked a brow at Gabriel.

Gabriel pursed his lips, but didn’t deny his cowardice.

“It was mortifying!” Adrien lamented, his arms waving wildly, but then he grinned, “I think I was the most well-educated boy my age when it came to women’s underwear after that.”

“Oh, God,” Marinette covered her eyes with her hand and began laughing.

Adrien smirked, “I’m glad everyone finds my humiliation so hilarious."

"Well, good news, you're being discharged!" Marinette pointed out, "The doctor is on his way up with papers and we'll be free to go."

The two Agreste men glanced to each other, the tension was there again, but much less so. They'd had a good time together for the first time in so very long.

"I'll have Nathalie get those to you as soon as possible. I will see you later," he leaned over to wrap his arms around Adrien, "I love you, son."

"Love you, too, dad."

Gabriel pulled out his cell, put it to his ear, and left the room. "Nathalie..."

"What was that all about?" Marinette wondered aloud.

Adrien's eyes were alight and he wore a giddy grin, "You'll see. It's a surprise!"


	29. Something Borrowed, Something...Brownstone

Marinette waited in the hallway while the doctors checked Adrien over one last time before release. Though they were technically married, they still had a lot to learn about each other. Marinette wanted to maintain the anticipation for the day that she and Adrien were ready to take their relationship further. Right now, she was the dutiful wife awaiting her husband to go...home?

She wasn't quite sure where they were going. With the whole 'Gabriel is Hawk Moth' bombshell, that was dropped in their laps, Marinette decided to offer him the option of staying with her family until he felt comfortable to return home. Her parents offered to let them use their room while Adrien was recovering. She knew he didn't want to impose and just stayed awkwardly silent about it all. He hadn't said anything about going back to the mansion, either. It was strange how he just kept avoiding the topic.

"Ready to go?"

Marinette broke out of her daze to see Adrien looking down at her with a grin. "Yeah, sure. Where are we going?"

Adrien smirked, "You'll see."

"Your house or mine?"

"Neither," his grin widened and he poked her nose playfully, "Now no more snooping, nosey."

"Snooping?!" she exclaimed, "Where are you planning to recover, Adrien?"

"Come on." He reached out and grabbed her hand as a nurse arrived with a wheel chair. He frowned, "Do I have to?"

"Hospital policy," she nodded.

Adrien grumbled as he flopped down into the wheel chair. Marinette held onto his hand and squeezed it, "You _are_ still recovering."

He looked away and sighed heavily. This was just humiliating. He was sure the paparazzi was waiting out front to snap photos of poor, poor pitiful Adrien Agreste who broke his skull falling down the stairs of the metro. Perfect.

"We're going out the side door," Marinette whispered and ran the back of his knuckles against her soft lips, "I thought you might appreciate some discretion."

"I love you," he whispered breathlessly. Oh how he adored this girl and the way she just knew what he needed and got it done.

"I know," she grinned, "Now let's get you out of here." She turned to the nurse, "I can take it from here."

The nurse shrugged, "Leave the wheel chair with an orderly when you're done."

"Sure thing," Marinette nodded. There was a man waiting at the side entrance to take the wheelchair from her as planned.

The company car awaited them, as instructed, and Arthur opened the door to help them in to the back seat.

"I can do it myself," Adrien insisted, "But thank you."

They drove away from the hospital and Adrien kept shooting fervid glances in her direction. Inside he was positively vibrating with anticipation. Marinette frowned as they drove past both routes to hers and Adrien's house.

"Where on earth...?" she gazed behind them and gaped like a goldfish over to a smug Adrien, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Of course, my Lady," he agreed, "I so rarely get the opportunity to surprise you."

It was about that time that they pulled up in front of the Brownstone where they'd spent their wedding night. Marinette's eyes widened with realization and they sparkled, "You didn't!"

"I did," he held up the keys, "It's ours for as long as we'd like to stay."

Marinette squealed and threw her arms around him, cautious of his still bruised interior, "You are unbelievable!"

 "Unbelievably handsome? Unbelievably brilliant? Romantic? Thoughtful?"

 At about this moment, Marinette launched herself at him with a  squeal, "Yes!!! Everything. How did you ever convince your dad to let you have it?"

He smirked, "I don't believe it took any convincing."

The knowing look on his face radiated outwards and Marinette giggled, "Oooh, you guilt tripped Gabriel!? So low, Adrien! What do you think he'll do once he finds out you're Chat Noir?"

"He'll never find out if I can help it," he pouted.

Marinette rolled her eyes, "Oh, hush now, don't be a hypocrite. You'll both get over it eventually."

"Yes. I'll get over that time his akuma blasted me into dust and blew me into the sky to 'seed the clouds.'"

Marinette began to chuckle, "Oh, honestly, it wasn't that bad. You came down in beautiful little raindrops, if I do recall."

Adrien pulled away, his hand flat against his chest in obvious affront, "My Lady! Do you believe his traumatizing of your kitty is not offensive?"

"Psshh, you were singing 'I'm Singing in the Rain' for the next week. I'm pretty sure it didn't damage you too horribly." Then Marinette thought back to that week and could remember Adrien humming 'Singing in the Rain' in class. Her eyes widened, "You realize I could have discovered you prematurely just by that? You hummed it all week even out of disguise."

Adrien squinted, "Hard to draw such a parallel from a song. Especially such an iconic song after an akuma rained people all over Paris."

"I suppose."

"What about that time his akuma hung me from a flag pole by my tail!"

"Builds character."

"Or the time he rearranged my face!!!"

"Don't be so dramatic. You and I both know that once Gabriel discovered it was you, he would have put everything right."

Adrien huffed, "Unbelievable. Unbelievable?! My wife and my father are both against me."

Marinette slinked next to him and dropped her head to his shoulder, "I'm not against you. Those were awful things he did to you..."

"Damn straight," he nodded with finality.

"But you have to admit that we were uniquely prepared to deal with such complications of the job and you are no more traumatized than you were entertained by the antics."

Adrien sighed, which turned into a growl, "I guess you're right. Still, my own father...he could have killed me."

Marinette snickered to herself as she followed her miserably mumbling husband up to the entrance.

This would be interesting, seeing as she'd never seen the lobby before.

"Ah, young Master Agreste, it is a pleasure to see you," the man at the security desk greeted jovially, "And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?" He glanced over to Marinette and nodded politely.

She looked up to Adrien, in question, and received the minutest of nods. Her hand shot outwards confidently, "Marinette Agreste."

He bowed gently and smiled before faltering, "Agreste...?" he gestured between the two, "Any relation?"

"Marinette is my wife," Adrien beamed proudly.

The man scurried out from behind the counter, dropping from the platform to reveal his diminutive size, "It is such a pleasure to meet you!" He turned to Adrien and held his arms out, "Congratulations, Master Adrien!"

"Thank you, Loren," Adrien chuckled at the enthusiasm.

In an instant, he was back facing Marinette and staring directly into her eyes, "You take care of this young man. He is one of my pets."

"Absolutely," she smirked at the use of 'pet.' If the man only knew how close he was.

"Do enjoy your evening," he nodded and scurried back to his position behind the counter. He gestured over to the elevators which opened with a ding.

Marinette stepped in and turned to face a smug Adrien Agreste. He smirked up at the ceiling before sighing, "My bad luck has once again ruined a magnificent surprise. This was supposed to be your wedding present, you know?" Marinette was lightly chuckling. "So don't get your hopes up for after the wedding."

He pointed his finger in her face, but to his surprise she went silent...and pink. He gulped.

"I won't," she pursed her lips and turned away, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh."

They stood awkwardly next to each other the rest of the ride up, both suddenly quite aware of their proximity and the warmth radiating from their bodies. It seemed as if the 'ding' signaling that they'd made it to the penthouse floor could not come soon enough. Yet, it did and they were not puddles of exasperation on the floor.

Adrien, being ever the gentleman, offered her his arm. She reached out and took his hand, instead. She tucked it close to her and wrapped her other hand around them both. Marinette's heart was just about to pound right out of her chest. This was not the entrance they'd taken before. No, this was much bigger, official, public. She tucked her bottom lip firmly between her teeth as Adrien pulled up on the panel to unlock the door.

"Keycode?" she asked, "But..."

"The key unlocks it, too," he clarified, "This is just easier."

There was a 'click' as the door swung open. He opened his arms with a grin, "May I?"

"Uh, sure...?" She had no idea what he was getting at, but a hug she could do. Instead, despite his injuries, he swept her up in his arms. He winced and Marinette shrieked, "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"I'm...fine." He stepped over the threshold and gently set her down with a whoop of triumph, "I had to carry my wife over the threshold of our first home." Afterwards, he limped over to the couch, followed by a giggling, albeit concerned, Marinette.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," he smirked, "Not like a traumatic brain injury can keep ME down." He let out all of his breath with an 'oof,' "Marinette, I've been thinking. Do we really need to go through with this wedding, after all? I mean, everything is crazy right now and I doubt it'll slow down any time soon. A wedding is very bland in comparison, honestly. Not only is my father Hawkmoth, villainous evildoer of Paris, but my mom is still alive--"

"ADRIEN AGRESTE!!" she interrupted with fervor, "A postponement, I can do. We have pushed it back for you to heal. That is understandable, but don't you think for one minute you are going to rob your father of the opportunity to throw his only child a truly beautiful wedding. He's been working on that dress for weeks. Besides, you wanted this. I know you did. You are the one who talked **_me_ ** into it!"

Adrien began to snicker.

"Don't be so bitter," she smirked, "He's probably been planning this since you could walk."

"Before," Adrien smirked, "I think he'd hoped I would be a girl."

"You just don't want to be pranced around in front of Paris anymore."

"That, too," he nodded in agreement with a pinched expression. Of course that, too.

"I am your wife now," she stated resolutely, "If your father wants you to model, from here on out, he's going to have to go through me."

"You work for my father, Marinette." His brows dropped sardonically.

"Yes, well, I don't have to. Besides, I think he _owes_ you, don't you agree?" she shrugged. Then her expression turned mischievous. "You can't tell me he won't respect my desire to be the sole admirer of--this." She gestured to the entirety of him, to which Adrien blushed profusely.

* * *

 

The elaborately ornate, white gazebo, in a large manicured hedge maze down by the Agreste stables, was decorated with large bunches of roses and gardenias, symbolic of the two families coming together. There were a couple hundred seats all lined up in rows, separated by a long walkway already adorned with fluffy red and white petals. A few additional accents had been placed, as an afterthought, and much to Gabriel Agreste's dismay; alternating green and red ribbons on all of the white covered chairs.

"Was the green really necessary?" Gabriel sulked next to Emilie as she snickered in response.

"I did tell you that green accentuates Adrien's eyes." Her clutch was in the same shade of green.

Gabriel ran his finger tips gingerly up his coif, "Yes, well, how was I supposed to know he'd want to model at his own wedding? I thought that was the last thing he wanted."

"Perhaps it was Marinette's idea?"

Gabriel immediately softened and Emilie was sure she'd hit her mark. Gabriel had initially found Marinette Dupain-Cheng annoying in her youth, but had since, in a very short amount of time, come to find her surprisingly endearing.

Crowds of people came pouring in through the Agreste estate. Arthur was in charge of security while Nathalie wore a little earpiece and directed personnel. Models dressed in 'Gabriel' suits and gowns escorted everyone through the manor to the wedding venue to be seated. Emilie and Gabriel stood at the back patio to greet everyone as they walked through the doors.

Marinette, on the other hand, was a wreck.

"Girl, chill," Alya laughed as she tried to apply lipstick to the frazzled bride for a third time.

"I'm going to fall on my face, Alya. It's going to be awful. Everyone is going to stare and laugh and I'll be mortified."

"You're right," Alya nodded and Marinette gasped. "Everyone IS going to stare, but that's because you're so beautiful, girl! I mean, damn. Look at you. This dress is to die for. I wonder if Gabriel accepts kidneys as payment, because that's the only way I'd ever be able to afford something like this."

Marinette glanced down at her dress and gulped, "Is it too much? Is the wedding too much? Adrien wanted a wedding. I was okay with something small."

"Breathe, Marinette. You'll be fine. This whole marriage business happens all the time. Most adults in Paris have done it. It is your turn. You will be fine."

 _Most adults in Paris have done it._ It was just marriage she was referring to, not weddings, but Marinette still took away that one piece...she and Adrien were already married. That knowledge soothed her instantly. Her husband would be waiting for her at the altar. He was her rock. They could get through this. It was supposed to be a celebration, after all.

"Okay, I can do this," she nodded and closed her eyes as Alya came chasing after her with smoky blue eyeshadow.

"You are beautiful, honey," Sabine squealed as she snuck in the side door, "Absolutely stunning. I need a picture!"

Sabine missed Marinette's exasperated eyeroll as Sabine pulled out her point-and-click and stepped IN FRONT of the professional photographer they'd hired to document this harmonious occasion. It was as if her tunnel vision had completely erased the giant lens now pointing directly at the back of her head. The photographer snapped a picture of Sabine taking a picture and chuckled.

"Maman," Marinette whined, "We have a photographer."

Sabine smiled sheepishly, "Ah, yes, but these are mine. It is different, you know?" She tucked the little camera into her purse like it was something precious. With open arms, she reached for Marinette, "Oh, honey, you are gorgeous! And that dress. Gabriel must really adore you. This is..." Her mother covered her mouth with one of her hands and stifled a little sob.

"Extraordinarily beautiful," Marinette agreed, gently running her hand down the bodice and feeling all the individual stitches, done by hand, by her father-in-law. Who would have ever thought a former super villain could have such talented hands?  She giggled to herself. A year ago she never would have imagined Hawk Moth, himself, sitting in the front row of Ladybug's and Chat Noir's wedding. It was comical, to say the least.

"What so funny, girl?" Alya asked as she pinned a flower to her own dress.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Alya and Sabine exchanged a nervous glance. Marinette was normally flaky under pressure, but this was absent of any hysterics. They were in unfamiliar territory

"Do you need a drink? A snack or something? Is your sugar low?" Her mom frantically dug through the little basket of refreshments on the counter.

"No, no, I'm fine. Honest," Marinette held her hands up to pacify them.

Sabine shrugged and grabbed the veil to help Alya pin it to her up-do. The photographer began snapping frantically as the two women adjusted the pinned the head accessory into place. Sabine took the veil from the front, leaned forward to kiss her daughter's cheek, and let it drop gently in front of her face.

"Oh, honey, you are a picture," she cried. A single tear dripped down her cheek and her lips quivered.

Marinette wiped the tear away, "Maman, you're going to ruin your make-up."

Alya sniffled from behind.

"Not you, too," Marinette smirked, "I'm not dying. It's a wedding! We're supposed to be happy."

"So SOOO happy," Sabine bellowed.

"Oh, maman," Marinette wrapped her arms around her mother and chuckled, "What am I going to do with you? You're going to make ME cry."

"Don't you dare," Alya interjected, "We can't have _your_ makeup running. Nuh-uh, no way, that ain't all right."

There was a quiet knock at the door and a quiet voice of Tom, "Sabine, the ushers would like to seat the parents."

"Coming, honey!" she called. "Okay, baby, that's my cue." She took a deep, steadying breath. "Good luck, girls!"

Marinette followed Alya out into the hall. Nino was waiting in the distance with Nathanael and Kim. Kagami and Marinette's cousin, Lily, were waiting on their side. Manon and August were ready to head out as ring bearer and flower girl.

The music began and Nathalie ushered the tots out.

"This is it!" Marinette whispered and let out an audible sigh.

"You're gorgeous!" Kagami grinned.

Lily signed, " _Agreed. Completely. You're stunning._ "

Marinette signed back, " _Thank you!_ "

They all lined up to go in. Nathanael held out his arm for Lily and began to tap her fingers with his other hand to the beat of the music. She smiled up at him and nodded her appreciation. Next, it was Kim and Kagami. They were actually dating, as well. Kim and Kagami had a lot in common and a relationship sort of blossomed; friends to more in no time at all.

Then there was Alya and Nino. They lined up next an happily reached out for each other. Although, Nino craned his neck behind to look Marinette up and down. Before stepping out he gave her a big grin and an emphatic thumbs up.

Tom Dupain stood at the double doors now, holding his hands out to his daughter, as she stepped forward. She reached out for him and smiled softly. Her father was a big softie and she could tell he was trying his very best to not cry.

"You are elegantly dazzling, my dear," he cooed.

"Thank you, papa."

She reached out for his arm and they turned to enter the sanctuary. Everyone stood as soon as the music changed, but Marinette could still clearly see Adrien standing at the front of the large crowd. He only had eyes for her.

Her father's steadying arm, and hand firmly clasped over the top of her own, grounded her in reality. When her eyes were locked on Adrien's it was as if she could float off into the sky and never come down again. There was something about this experience, though extraneous in her opinion, that was immensely powerful. All of these people were there for them. They were all turned, looking at her, but she knew they were all here to celebrate her and Adrien's love for each other.

Honestly, it still made her feel strange to say that. Adrien was her husband. He loved her. They were in love with each other. It was just so fairytale-esque that it couldn't be true. She kept wondering when she'd finally wake up from her dream and realize that everything was just a fantasy. This couldn't be real life, and yet, it was just too real to not be.

In what seemed like no time at all she and her father were at the altar. Adrien stepped towards her. The sure footsteps he took, no hesitation, made the butterflies go wild inside of her. Not only was he Adrien Agreste, handsome 'Gabriel' international modeling sensation, most beautiful man she'd ever laid eyes on, but he was Chat. HER Chat. He was her silly, pun loving partner who had been there supporting her, believing in her, from day one when she didn't even believe in herself. He was the best thing to ever happen in her life, and she'd been rather fortunate so that was saying a lot.

His eyes were glassed over with emotion and she smiled sweetly up at her kitty, her husband, Adrien.

All she heard was, 'Her mother and I,' and she was being led to the platform where they were to stand.

"I feel like I'm going to need a doctor," Adrien muttered quietly, just for her, "You're giving me a fever in that dress."

"Oh?? She giggled to herself.

He cocked an eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

"Wait until you see what's under it."

Adrien squeezed her hands and his eyes widened as if to say 'seriously?'

They'd discussed that this would be the night of their honeymoon. They both thought they should explore each other, even if they didn't ultimately decide to go all the way tonight. He felt plenty of physical attraction to Marinette and she was the same. They just hadn't had the time, compounded with the precautions they'd have to take since Adrien had been in an accident. The doctor did give them the go ahead, though.

"Do you take this man...forever."

"I do," Marinette beamed up at Adrien. The wedding was going by in a blur. It was like she was on autopilot at this point.

"You may kiss the bride."

**_What?_ **

Marinette's eyes widened as she saw Adrien leaning in to capture her lips with his own. The veil was suddenly lifted and she could see him clearly. His eyelids closed and she mourned the disappearance of his vibrant green eyes, but only for a moment, for her own closed soon after. His lips brushed against hers lightly. They were warm and soft as they glided gently over the top of her own. It was their first kiss in front of so many people. There were camera flashes from all over, including the few paparazzi that were allowed to attend by Gabriel's invite only.

They stared at each other for a moment more before turning to gaze out over the audience. The Agreste were both seated next to the Dupain-Chengs. Both Sabine and Emilie were sopping up stray tears with their linen handkerchiefs while Gabriel and Tom both sniffed aggressively in the attempts to keep their own flows at bay.

Adrien was rather emotional all of a sudden, seeing his mother sitting there in front of them. Marinette wasn't the only one who had had all of her dreams come true. Adrien's wishes had been answered. A lonely boy, missing his mom, with an overbearing father, was finally given the life he'd always wanted. His mother was home, he was no longer alone, his father was working towards redemption, and he had the girl of his dreams. What more could he possibly ask for?

Marinette felt his hands squeeze her own as she stared lovingly up at him. 'I love you,' she mouthed. He mouthed, 'I love you, too,' back. They held their joined hands up to resonant applause.

The officiator's voice boomed, "May I present, Mr. and Mrs., Adrien and Marinette Agreste!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a LONG time since I've updated this story. I am very grateful for your patience!!
> 
> This is NOT the end of it, but I am trying to wrap it up. ;)


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